Johannes Schiefer was born in 1896 in the Netherlands, and quickly gained notoriety for his landscapes, still life’s and portraits. Schiefer won the Prix de Rome at the age of 19 and studied at the Düsseldorf Academy in Germany, and then moved to Paris where he continued his studies in art at the Beaux Arts, and later at the Villa Medici in Rome. He traveled to paint across Europe, primarily France and Italy and also Latin America.

When he married, he settled down in Nice France, and during the late thirties, he traveled and painted the coastline of the South of France, as well as Venice and the Adriatic. He remained in France until 1942, when he moved to New York with his family after the birth of their daughter, future actress Joanna Miles. Already an artist of stature when he arrived in New York, he settled with his family on Long Island, and for the next 30 years, Schiefer kept on painting and built a solid reputation as an important American artist. The Schiefers also had a son, Johannes Jr. After the war, Schiefer maintained a Paris studio and became a resident of Los Angeles for a time in the 1950s.

For the next 30 years Schiefer kept on painting and during his career had numerous one man shows, having exhibitions at: Gallery Zak in Paris; Kunsthaus in Hamburg; Kunsthalle in Munich; Stiebel Galleries in Paris; O'Connor Gallery in Ontario; Museum of Modern Art, Wildenstein & Co, Carol Carstairs Gallery and Schoeneman Galleries in New York City; Esther Robles Gallery, County Museum and Vigoveno Galleries in Los Angeles; and the San Francisco Museum.

Like Picasso, Schiefer never permitted himself to be “type-cast” in a single monotonous style. If there is anything that typifies his work, it is his versatility, his deft handling of subdued tones to create a unique brilliance of light and color that stamps every painting with his own individuality. In February 1964, Ethel Kennedy happened to meet the artist at Donald Patterson’s decorating establishment on Worth Avenue in New York City. Donald described the meeting saying that she “just looked in wonderment when Johannes came in with one of his paintings. The Kennedy family has collected Schiefer paintings for a long time, but Ethel Kennedy had never before come face to face with the painter.” After looking at a few of his works, she commissioned Schiefer to create a painting of Monaco for her. This was the beginning of a wonderful relationship and many more commissioned works followed.

As his work gained notoriety in New York, he eventually became curator at the Parrish Art Museum in Long Island, NY. His work is represented in museums and prominent private collections around the world. Johannes Schiefer passed away at his home in Manhattan in 1979 at the age of 83.