A Southern California native born in 1945, Don Ed Hardy began tattooing in 1966 while completing a B.F.A. degree in printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute. He went on to develop the fine art potential of the medium with emphasis on its Asian heritage, frequently studying and working in Japan. In 2000 he received an honorary doctorate from SFAI. Although still maintaining his San Francisco tattoo studio, Tattoo City, Hardy no longer tattoos. His focus now is on painting, printmaking, and works in other media that have been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally. In addition to curating several shows, he has written and published more than thirty books on alternative art under the Hardy Marks imprint. Hardy’s various works form the basis of the global fashion line Ed Hardy, that became an international phenomenon. His life and works are documented in a variety of books and films.

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