Cynthia Back was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1956. She received her B.F.A. from Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and studied at Wimbledon School of Art and St. Martin’s School of Art in London, England. Before moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2002, Ms. Black lived in Brooklyn, New York for 11 years.
As both a painter and printmaker, Cynthia Black has exhibited throughout the United States and Europe. She has also received numerous awards and honors, including a Puffin Foundation grant in 2003, a Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc. grant in 1996, and a fellowship to The Ballinglen Arts Foundation Ltd., Co. Mayo, Ireland in 1997, among others.