Fred Sandback was born in Bronxville, New York, in 1943. He received his undergraduate degree in philosophy at Yale College and a master of fine arts degree in sculpture from the Yale School of Art, where his instructors included visiting lecturers Donald Judd and Robert Morris. At Yale he made his first sculpture out of elastic cord and metal corners, Untitled (Red Floor Piece), which resembles the outline of a 2 x 4 piece of lumber. In 1968, while still a student, Sandback had his first two solo exhibitions: at Galerie Konrad Fischer in Düsseldorf, and at Galerie Heiner Friedrich in Munich. In 1972 he abandoned elastic cord in favor of acrylic yarn as his preferred medium. Sandback’s work was featured in the Whitney’s annual exhibition of 1968, the Sydney biennial of 1976, and the Art Institute of Chicago’s biennial of 1979, as well as dozens of solo and group exhibitions. From 1981 to 1996 the Dia Art Foundation maintained a museum of his work in Winchendon, Massachusetts; and a major installation remains at Dia: Beacon. From 2005 to 2006 a major retrospective of Sandback's work traveled around Europe. Sandback committed suicide in 2003.