Victor Victori grew up in rural South Korea and began painting portraits as a child. His father was a mayor of a small town during the Korean War and was also a peach farmer. His father encouraged Victori to take over the farm, but Victori wanted to further his craft and enrolled in an art academy instead. After serving a few years in the Air Force, he left South Korea in 1969. He moved to America in 1972 and took on his first project, a presidential mural of all the American presidents which is now in the White House collection. It was delivered to the Nixon White House in 1973 and remains there to this day. After completing the Presidential Mural Victori traveled the country doing shows and exhibitions for 20 years. During the 70’s and 80’s Victori traveled the country working mostly as a portrait artist doing various art shows, exhibitions, and private commissions. The speed Victori brought to his profession allowed him to set up a shop, gain clients in the double digits, produce finished portrait work, pack up and move onto a new city within a matter of days. Victori returned to the Northeast and opened a gallery on Park Avenue in New York City. The Park Avenue gallery, located in the east walkway of the Helmsley building underpass, was home to private sittings, instructional painting classes, networking soirees as well as the birth of a few of Victori’s original prized pieces.
