Frank Cannas, a New Yorker, was born of Italian immigrants in the Bronx in 1936. His father was from the island of Sardinia and his mother from the Abruzzi region of Italy. Frank remembered at six years old when his father caught him drawing on the side of his mother's dresser with a straight pin. Instead of reprimanding him, he gave Frank a piece of paper and pencil and said 'This is where you draw -not on the furniture.'
Frank graduated from the school of Visual Arts' illustration program in 1958 and apprenticed with the Illustrators Group where he met illustrators Tony Kokinos, Roy Anderson, Guy Deel, among others. He then worked as staff artist for Ross Art Studios. Then from 1960 to 1967 he was a staff artist for the Equitable Life Insurance Company. Frank spent 1967 to 1971 as a freelance illustrator producing illustrations for book covers, textbooks, ads, magazines. and childrens books.
One book ( Ten Trained Bears) can still be bought since 1969. He worked for publishers such as Dell Books, Holt Reinhart & Winston, Harcort Brace & World, Western Printing, McGrawHill, Rutledge Books, RC Gibson Co., and Random House.
From 1971 to 1997, Frank worked at the Philip Morris Companies Inc Art Department, illustrating full-color posters for the company's many sponsored sports events, such as women's tennis, U.S Open tennis, Marlboro Horse racing, Formula 1 Racing, Sail Boat racing, Bike Racing, and Motorcross. He was also commissioned to do portraits of Don Budge (the first triple crown winner) and Virginia Wade for the Tennis Hall of fame.
Frank began Exhibiting while still fully employed in 1981. In 1992 The Artist Magazine featured Frank's work on the cover, as well as an article about hard and soft edges in painting. In 1996 he retired and painted for his own pleasure and for his studios.
Fine art was his way of life, and he painted piein-aire or in his studio at home. He has won over 20 awards in nationaly juried exhibitions and was also a member of the Board of the Hudson Valley Art association.
