Stuart Dunkel was born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey in 1952 and currently lives in Boston. He began painting and playing classical music at the age of five and went on to a long career with top orchestras in Boston, New York, and Hong Kong. In 1994, he transitioned from music to fine art, receiving his classical training at The Boston Museum School, Boston, MA, The Academy of Realist Art, Seattle, WA and private study with other realist painters.

For his subject matter, Dunkel alternates between still life, landscape, and animal portraits that fuse detailed depictions with subtle humor. He hopes his viewer will find joy, optimism, and playfulness, as well as a sense of classical balance and beauty in his work.

Dunkel’s professional track has revealed to him the many similarities between music and painting. Rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, balance, contrast, scales, chromatism, keys, high and low, dark and bright, loud and soft, colorful and dull, can all be found in his compositions. 

Dunkel teaches paintings classes through his own academy, THE NAUTILUS SCHOOL OF REALIST ART in Watertown, MA. He is a member of The International Guild of Realism, The Art Renewal Center, and the Copley Society of Boston and has won awards and been invited to show at The Guild of Boston Artists, The Copley Society of Boston, The Salmagundi Club, along with other groups and galleries.  

He paints every day in the company of his dog, his cat, and the 3 white mice that share his studio.