Amanda Dunbar (born 1982) is a Texas-based artist who gained acclaim at an early age for her oil painting skills. Amanda Dunbar began painting in an after school art class at the age of 13. Her spontaneous and advanced works acquired significant interest immediately. Dunbar is currently listed as a

prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and m ...

of the visual arts in the current textbooks for advanced university education entitled ''Child Psychology'' published by

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Canada, Ltd.

Early life and education

Amanda Dunbar was born in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

, Ontario, Canada. She moved to

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada, at the age of 4 and attended Orleans Wood Elementary School. Dunbar moved with her family to

Allen, Texas Allen is a city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County in the U.S. state of Texas, and a northern suburb in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The population was 104,627 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and was estimated to be 111 ...

. where she attended Ford Middle School and graduated from Allen High School in 2000. At the end of the eighth grade she signed up for an after-school art class where the instructor asked the class to paint something – anything – so that he could gauge their skill level. Dunbar picked up a brush and created ''Mother's Touch'', a portrait in the French impressionist style of a woman in a blue dress drying her small daughter after her bath. The impressed instructor quickly notified Dunbar's parents of her unusual skill. When she was young she liked many things such as cooking, drawing, acting, singing, etc. She never knew what she wanted to as she grew up. She thought she could be a nurse like her mother. But, she never thought that her career would be becoming an artist. Dunbar graduated from

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

with a BFA in 2004. She graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' with departmental distinction. Dunbar was named State Artist of Texas in 2005. She went on to study abroad in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. She acquired a post baccalaureate certification at the

Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art The Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art (PASCA) was an art school in Pont-Aven, Pont Aven, France, founded in 1993 by the art historian]Caroline Boyle-Turneras an international fine arts program for advanced under-graduate and post-graduate studi ...

in 2006. In 2006 she also became the youngest honoree on record and is the only painter to date to be inducted into the

Texas Women's Hall of Fame The Texas Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1984 by the Governor's Commission on Women. The honorees are selected biennially from submissions from the public. The honorees must be either native Texans or a resident of Texas at the time of t ...

. She was 23 at the time and honored in the arts category. In 2009 Dunbar was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award from Southern Methodist University for Emerging Leadership. Earlier in the year she was awarded the 2009 Americanism Medal by the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

Career

Dunbar began painting at the age of 13 and had a solo exhibition in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, at the age of 16. Of the 68 paintings on display, most sold on the opening night with sales totaling over $500,000. The success of her showing prompted national media attention and she has been profiled since in numerous magazines and print media including ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'', ''

Southern Living ''Southern Living'' is a lifestyle magazine aimed at readers in the Southern United States featuring recipes, house plans, garden plans, and information about Southern culture and travel. It is published by Birmingham, Alabama Alabama ...

'' and ''

ARTnews ''ARTnews'' is an American art magazine, based in New York City. It covers visual arts from ancient to contemporary times. It is the oldest and most widely distributed art magazine in the world. ''ARTnews'' has a readership of 180,000 in 124 co ...

''. She has appeared on TV shows including ''

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'' (twice). Dunbar publicly credits the talk show host for inspiring her business model and philanthropic goals particularly after she took over control of her studio art business from what she considered bad management at the age of 18. At the age of 15, Dunbar made a decision to become an advocate for children's and artist's causes. She took part in a documentary entitled ''The Artist in Me'' that became a special feature on Mattel's ''

Barbie as Rapunzel ''Barbie as Rapunzel'' is a 2002 animated fairy tale film co-produced by Mainframe Entertainment and Mattel Entertainment, and distributed by Artisan Home Entertainment. An adaptation of the 1812 German fairy tale "Rapunzel" by the Brothers Gr ...

'' DVD, released in 2002 to inspire creativity among children. She also became an ambassador to the

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Pre ...

in 2004. Dunbar has donated to charities including the Grammy's

MusiCares Foundation MusiCares Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1989 and incorporated in 1993 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Meant for musicians to have a place to turn in times of financial, personal, or medical crisis ...

. ''

ABC World News ''ABC World News Tonight'' (titled ''ABC World News Tonight with David Muir'' for its weeknight broadcasts since September 2014) is the flagship daily evening television news program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting ...

'' profiled the artist in 2007 as a "Person of the Week" when

Charles Gibson Charles deWolf Gibson (born March 9, 1943) is an American Terrestrial television, broadcast television news presenter, anchor, journalist, and podcaster. Gibson was a host of ''Good Morning America'' from 1987 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2006, ...

discovered that she had quietly donated over a million dollars to various causes. Dunbar frequently speaks to youth, (girls in particular) and artists on a range of topics. Dunbar is the founder and CEO of Dunbar Studios in Dallas. She is also the lead designer for the Precious Rebels line of art guitars. Her art guitars from the collection are among the most expensive guitars in the world. The collection is named as a subtle tribute to

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

, whom the artist states is "the most precious rebel on earth" and remains a significant influence to the artist's life today. Dunbar's art can be found in many private and corporate collections around the world.

Television appearances

*''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'', ABC AM Northwest
The Big Idea, CNBC *''

The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999, to January 7, 2012, replacing the original incarnation of '' CBS This Morning'', and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the n ...

'', CBS *'' World News Tonight'', ABC *''Good Morning Texas'', ABC *

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

*''Designing Texas'' *

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

's '' The Other Half'' *"Our Town Hero", CBS 11 *''

Soap Talk ''Soap Talk'' is a television talk show on SOAPnet hosted by Lisa Rinna and Ty Treadway. It debuted in 2002 and ended in 2006. The reason for the show's cancellation was due to SOAPnet expanding its programming away from a soap opera-related focus ...

'' *"The Spirit of Texas",

News 8 News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. Ne ...

, ABC *''Living Large''
''The Artist in Me''
short documentary by Mattel entertainment

Honors and awards

Distinguished Alumni Award: 2009 *

Americanism Medal: 2009 *

: 2006 * Ambassador to the

References

Sources

ABC Person of the Week: Amanda Dunbar (video)

ABC Person of the Week: Amanda Dunbar (Article)
* Girardi, Laura C. (November 11, 2002)

'' Time for Kids''. (Archived fro
the original
July 14, 2007.)
Dunbar Becomes Ambassador to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Artist Amanda Dunbar Gives Back by Painting Guitar for Charity

Dunbar on LA Artslant

Dunbar Chosen for Miami GuitarTown Project

MSNBC: Artist Creates Huge Guitar for Charity

Artist's Guitar Used on Opening Nickelback Performance at the Juno Awards

* Guided By Angels – Art Book

by Douglas Eby

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External links

Amanda Dunbar website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunbar, Amanda Living people 1982 births American contemporary painters People from Allen, Texas Painters from Ontario People from Thunder Bay Painters from Texas 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women painters American women printmakers 20th-century American printmakers 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American painters