Frederick Ortner was trained in New York City at Pratt Institute, the New York Studio School, and New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. His painting has been supported by grants from the Skowegan School, the Royal College of Art in London, the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, the E. J. Noble Foundation, and the MacDowell Colony.

His work has been exhibited in New York at the Bowery Gallery, the Blue Mountain Gallery, and the Prince Street Gallery. He has also exhibited in public and private galleries in Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Iowa, Norway, and France.

He is Professor of Art at Louisiana State University. (www.design.lsu.edu)