Dean Snyder received his MFA from the School of Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois in 1978 and continued his postgraduate studies at Lanchester Polytechnic College of Art and Design in Coventry, United Kingdom. He earned his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute, Missouri. Snyder has shown in numerous one-person exhibitions in California, Chicago and New York. In addition, his work was shown at the 2008 Summer Olympics and is permanently installed in the sculpture garden in Beijing. Collections include the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College; DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA; RISD Museum, Providence, RI; Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS. Other accolades include the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in Fine Arts (2013); Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship (2010); and the Siena Art Institute Residency in Siena, Italy (2012).