Walter Ferguson was born in New York in 1930. He has been drawing since childhood, but does not believe there is a genetic talent for art, since art is a cultural activity and culture is acquired. He received his formal art training under scholarship at the Yale University School of Fine Arts and at Pratt Institute.

Mr. Ferguson has always straddled two disciplines, art and zoology. He has illustrated twenty-six books, wrote and illustrated "Living Animals of the Bible", and numerous magazine articles. His paintings have appeared in LIFE magazine, The New York Times, Audubon Magazine, and for Reader's Digest Book Division, The Society for the protection of Nature in Israel, The Nature reserves Authority (of Israel), and the Weizman Institute of Science. His paintings have helped raise funds to restore endangered species of animals to Israel.

After working at the American Museum of Natural History, Mr. Ferguson moved to Israel in 1965, taught briefly at the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem, and then became staff artist for the Department of Zoology of the Tel Aviv University for more than twenty-three years. While always engaged in painting, he is now devoting most of his time to fine art and publishing papers on Paleontology. His son, David, has managed the Ferguson Gallery, has produced limited edition prints, and is now running the most successful fine art T-Shirt company in Israel under the label of

Mr. Ferguson's extensive travels throughout North America, Mexico, the Middle East and Africa have resulted in paintings of the indigenous people and wildlife, displaying his versatility in subject matter.

Walter Ferguson is married and has four children. His home and studio are in Beit Yannai, Israel. Mr. Ferguson's paintings are in private collections in many countries.