J. Frank Sampson was inspired to go into art because his mother, Mabel Elizabeth, would make up incredible stories filled with animals and fantasy that captivated the artist and later inspired his artwork. Sampson earned his BA at Concordia College and his MFA at the University of Iowa, where he continued post graduated studies. In 1959 Sampson spent two years in Belgium as a Fulbright Fellow returning in 1961 to teach at the University of Colorado. His work has been shown at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, the Arvada Center of the Arts, the Denver Art Museum and the Walker Art Center. The artist's work is in the permanent collections at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, the Des Moines Art Center, the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum and many other institutions.