Printmaker and teacher Michael Ponce de Leon was born in Florida. After receiving his B.A. from the University of Mexico City, he moved to New York, where he studied at the National Academy of Design, the Art Students League, and the School of the Brooklyn Museum. Among his teachers were esteemed graphic artists Will Barnet, Gabor Peterdi, and Ben Shahn.
Ponce de Leon treats prints as sculpture. Using handmade paper, photographs, and inks that he makes himself, the artist builds the layers of his images or creates three-dimensional works with cast paper. He has taught at the Art Students League in New York.
[This is an excerpt from the interactive companion program to the videodisc American Art from the National Gallery of Art. Produced by the Department of Education Resources, this teaching resource is one of the Gallery's free-loan educational programs.]