Joe Draegert was born in Chariton, Iowa. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute, in Kansas City, Missouri in 1968 and received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of California at Davis, California in 1970.

A recipient of numerous awards, including a full fellowship to the Yale Summer School for the Arts in 1967, Mr. Draegert received the Rome Prize in Painting in 1978 and spent one year at the American Academy in Rome. After spending eleven years teaching at Shasta College in Redding, California, he left his position to explore his creative life.

Currently, he spends his days painting in his Northern California studio, and makes frequent trips with his wife, Elizabeth, to Italy where he continues to be inspired by its history, landscape, and people.
He is represented by Erickson Fine Art Gallery, Healdsburg, California.

For more information call 209-466-6604.