Basil King, born in London, England before World War 2, has been painting for over seven decades and writing since 1985. He does both in Brooklyn, New York, where he has lived since 1969. As the details in this personal history will show, he has been a participant in American aesthetic life from 1951 when he first went to Black Mountain College (at age 16) to the present day, publishing poetry collections, chapbooks, and completing several thousand works of visual art in oils, inks, pastels, and mixed media. His work continues.