The Career Chronicle of

Matt Sesow

Shows · Press · Media · Milestones
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Years Painting
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Original Works Sold
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Countries
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Career Highlights
Born September 10, 1966, in Omaha, Nebraska · Self-taught Washington, DC expressionist painter · One of the first artists to sell paintings online (1995) · Creating and shipping original works weekly since 1994 · Direct to collectors in 40+ countries · Zero gallery middlemen
🏠 See Works in Collectors' Homes →
★ Documented in a 1997 John Wiley & Sons Book One of the First Artists to Sell Paintings Online — Since 1995 IBM → AOL → Netscape → Full-Time Artist  ·  View the Evidence →
A Primary-Source Archive

For Researchers & Institutions

This chronicle is the public face of the Sesow Archive — a continuously maintained record documenting more than three decades of a single artist’s daily practice. It is offered as a primary source for scholars of self-taught and visionary art, and of art as a response to trauma, disability, and healing.

17,000+
Original works sold since 1994
40+
Countries with collectors
1975
The event the work answers, documented to source
26
Works in AVAM’s permanent collection
Trauma & HealingA childhood airplane accident and the lifelong iconographic language it produced — the plane, the hand, the bird, the rabbit, the burning sun.
Self-Taught PracticeA software engineer who began painting at 28 with no formal training and never signed an exclusive gallery contract.
Art & the InternetAmong the first artists in the world to sell original work online (1995), documented in a 1997 book cataloged by the Library of Congress.
Research & loan inquiries → Citation format at the foot of this page · Original documents available on request
🌐 Internet Pioneer 1995 🏛 UN Stamp 2013 🎨 AVAM Solo 2016 🖼 ODU + Basquiat 2021 🏠 In Collectors' Homes 📊 17,000+ Sold · 40+ Countries

Ready-to-Use Bios

50-word bio
Matt Sesow (b. 1966, Omaha, Nebraska) is a self-taught Washington, DC expressionist painter who has sold over 17,000 original works to collectors in 40+ countries since 1994. A childhood airplane accident that claimed his left hand became the foundational influence on decades of daily painting. He was among the first artists to sell paintings online.
150-word bio
Matt Sesow (b. 1966, Omaha, Nebraska) is a self-taught expressionist painter based in Washington, DC, who has sold over 17,000 original works to collectors in more than 40 countries since 1994. At age eight, he was struck by a landing airplane in rural Nebraska, losing his dominant left hand — an event that became the foundational influence on his art. Sesow was among the first artists worldwide to sell paintings online (1995), documented in a 1997 John Wiley & Sons book cataloged by the Library of Congress. His year-long solo exhibition "Shock and Awe" at the American Visionary Art Museum (2016–17) led to 26 paintings entering AVAM's permanent collection. In 2013, his painting "Dive Bomb" was selected for a United Nations postage stamp. His 2021 retrospective at Old Dominion University displayed 168 works alongside 13 original Basquiats. He paints and ships original works daily from his studio at 916 G Street NW, Washington, DC.

Contact & Downloads

How to Cite This Page

Sesow, Matt. "Career History 1966–2026." history.sesow.com. Updated 10 July 2026. Accessed [date].
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