Born in North Carolina, Donald Sultan studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to New York in 1975. He quickly established himself as a prominent painter, printmaker and sculptor. Sultan's works are included in many prestigious collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (NY), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Australian National Gallery, and the Walker Art Center.