A follower of the nineteenth century Barbizon School, Hudson River School, the Impressionists and an en plein air advocate; Ralph Nagel is interested in creating works that balance between spontaneity and control. An admirer of the nineteenth century forerunners Claude Monet, Camille Pissaro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, John Constable and Théodore Rousseau, he is an avid “en plein air” artist who reasons that to seize the closeness and likeness of an outside setting at a specific moment one must be outside to do so. Nagel says, “Truly seeing the subject of my art only takes place once the painting begins. It's about that day, that moment. I would be lost if I knew the end when I begin. And as in life, painting is about having the courage to take risks towards an outcome that is unknown.”

Nagel was born in St. Charles, Illinois, in 1945 and currently lives and works in Denver, Colorado. He received his Master of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1969, and his Master of City Planning; Master of Urban Design from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972. His work has been featured in solo exhibitions throughout Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Thailand, New Zealand, and throughout the United States, including Chicago, Dallas, Santa Fe, St. Louis, and Denver, among many others. Nagel is a member of Les Rats de Champ of Paris, France, and the co-founder of the painting group, STUDIO 208.