Biography

John Rush was born in central Indiana in 1948. As a boy he produced stacks of drawings, built models and developed a love of machinery. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in industrial design, he worked as a machine tool designer and later a city planner.

His passion for art eventually led him to Los Angeles to study illustration at Art Center College of Design. After graduating in 1975, he was recruited to work in a large Chicago art studio. In 1978, he moved to New York and became a freelance illustrator.

His interest in history and mythology sparked extensive travel in Europe and working for such clients as National Geographic, U.S. National Parks Service and the History Channel. His illustrated version of Ivanhoe has been published by Chronicle Books. John’s work has received awards from the Society of Illustrators, Graphis, Spectrum Illustration, Society of Publication Designers and The London Design Awards. His paintings and illustrations are included in many private and institutional collections, including the U.S. Department of the Interior, British Petroleum, U.S. Steel, Wells Fargo and the French National Government. He is presently working on a series of paintings and drawings based on Homer’s epic The Odyssey.

John now lives in Chicago and continues to divide his working life between painting, drawing and printmaking.