New England born Ed Parker combines a respect for history and great American traditions, with a unique inventiveness that has placed him among the leaders of today's generation of Americana painters. His illustrations have an original way of capturing the complexity of modern culture with a compelling, often whimsical sense of tradition.

Over the past 30 years Parker’s paintings and illustrations have graced books, magazines, and private and corporate collections from coast to coast. Working in the great American folk art tradition, Parker has carved out a name for himself using a sophisticated sense of design, proportion and color to create charming and often humorous vignettes of American life.

Music is an important part of Ed's artistic muse, and when not painting he is usually playing folk guitar and singing traditional songs, the lyrics of which often find their way into his paintings, completing a circle of folk inspired American traditions.

Borrowing from American folklore and history Ed Parker’s illustrations have both a romantic simplicity and a refined naivete. They become visual stories that can be interpreted and completed by each viewer in their own way.

Parker received a BFA in graphic design from the Massachusetts College of Art and a MFA in Painting and Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He served as Art Director of Boston Magazine and several Boston advertising agencies before starting Ed Parker Studio. His teaching experience includes design and illustration positions at Massachusetts College of Art, the Art Institute of Boston, Montserrat College of Art and Salem State College. In addition he has guest lectured and conducted seminars on illustration at the collegiate and secondary level.

Ed Parker's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the U.S. including: The Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA; Museum of American Illustration, New York, NY; Mt. Vernon Museum, Mt. Vernon, VA; J. Russell Jinishian Gallery, Fairfield CT; Marine Arts Gallery, Salem MA and Naples, FL; Cavalier Galleries, Nantucket, MA and Greenwich CT. He has also been the recipient of numerous awards including recognition from the Advertising Clubs of Boston and New York, the Art Directors Club of New York and the Society of Illustrators, New York. His maritime paintings have been included in the International Marine Art Exhibitions at the Mystic Seaport Museum. He was elected to the Society of Illustrators in 1986 and was elected to the American Society of Marine Artists as a Signature Member in 2010.