The beauty of art is truly in the eye of the beholder. Art is as diverse as the people who create it. Some of the most famous works of art come from the least expected places and people, but their journey is what seems to make it incredible. From the suburbs of Long Island, New York to Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco during the Hippie movement in the 1960s brought forth one of the most influential and internationally acclaimed artists, Eric Fischl. This article will examine his dysfunctional upbringing, his artistic education and teaching, his many successes, and how he became one of the most famous visual artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Eric Fischl was born in 1948 in New York City. His own biography states: "Fischl's suburban upbringing provided him with a background of alcoholism and a country club culture obsessed with image over content." (Eric Fischl: Biography) In an interview with Fischl, when asked about his upbringing, he stated "I grew up in an upper middle class American family in the suburbs of Long Island. My father was a salesman and went to the city every day. My mother was a housewife who had a serious drinking problem and so the family was in a dysfunctional state when I was growing up" (Davis) Although I dropped out of high school and lived the style for a while of hippie life, eventually moved to Arizona and attended college in Phoenix. (Davis)In 1972, Fischl returned to California to attend the California Institute for the Arts, from which he earned a bachelor of fine arts degree. Two years later he ended up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, teaching painting at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. After just a year, in 1975, he held his first exhibition at the Dalhousie Art Gallery. Three years the...... middle of the sheet......Print.Fischl, Eric. Bad boy. 1981. Eric Fischl: The First Paintings. Eric Fischl Studios, 2010. Web. March 23, 2012. .Fischl, Eric. Krefeld Project: Bathroom Scene 2. 2003. Eric Fischl: Krefeld Project. Eric Fischl Studios, 2010. Web. May 23, 2012. .Fischl, Eric. The bed, the chair, the jet lag. 2000. Eric Fischl: The bed, the chair... Eric Fischl Studios, 2010. Web. May 23, 2012. .HUGHES, ROBERT. “Art: Discontents of the White Tribe.” Editorial. TIME May 30, 1988. Time magazine. Time, May 30, 1988. Web. March 20, 2012. .Louise Blouin Media. "In the studio: Eric Fischl." Art+Auction 11 Jan.