Born in Washington, DC and raised in southern Anne Arundel County, Ann Munro Wood won her first commercial prize when she was 5-years old and she received her first paid commission at age 11. Her first serious painting in 1961 gained her entry into the renowned Maryland Institute of Art. She spent her senior year in Paris as a starving artist studying at the L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

Early in her career she was a courtroom artist for CBS affiliates. Her first assigments were to paint, from life, watercolor portraits of Muhammad Ali, Richard Nixon, and George H. Bush.

Ann married Peter Wood at St. Anne's Church on Church Circle in November of 1965, dedicating the following decade to raising a family. It wasn't until 1976 when she pulled a canvas from her attic, propped it up in a bedroom and started painting in oil from a John Singer Sargent book. Her youngest son Aaron came into the room, saw the painting and asked, "Mommy, are you an artist?"

"I don't know, what do you think?"
"Yes, mommy, I think you are."

Looking back, Ann recalls that conversation with her 6- year old son as one of the most inspirational moments in her life.

Since returning to her art career, Ann has lectured here and abroad, and continues to accept commissions for studies, portraits, murals and landscapes.

Portraits require sittings lasting one to two hours with breaks. Sketches and photographs can supplement the sittings when painting subjects with limited time. Portraits take two to twelve months to complete, depending on the complexity of the composition and the availability of the sitter.

EDUCATION
The Maryland Institute, BFA L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris Universite de Montpellier, Montpellier, France The National Academy of Design, New York City

EXHIBITIONS & COLLECTIONS
United States Supreme Court Institute of Heraldry, Department of the Army Maryland General Assembly Government House, Annapolis, Maryland Review and Herald Publishing Association Foundry Gallery, Washington, DC Atlantic Gallery, New York City

LECTURER
Delaware Art Museum Maryland College of Art Maryland Federation of Art, Juror Paint in Italy Program, Lake Como, Italy Wine & Watercolor Workshop, Napa Valley, Calif.

TV COURTROOM ART
WUSA, WJLA, PBS, CNN, CBS, NBC Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Independent Network News Dan Rather's "48 Hours"