Oliver Lee Jackson is a painter, sculptor, printmaker, and draftsman whose work is grounded in figuration. He was born in 1935 in St. Louis, Missouri, and began exhibiting his works in the mid-1960s. Jackson was  involved with the Black Artists Group (1968-72) in St. Louis through his close association with Julius Hemphill and others, acting as consultant and collaborator on multimedia arts presentations for the African American community. 

Jackson’s artworks are in numerous permanent collections including The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

Solo museum exhibition highlights include National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (2019); & Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO (2021-22 & 1980). 

In 2023, Oliver Lee Jackson was given the Lee Krasner Award for lifetime achievement from the Pollock Krasner Foundation