Boris Vallejo was born in Lima, Peru in 1941, the son of a prominent lawyer. His first love was music and he studied the violin for over seven years with the goal of becoming a concert violinist. Later, his priorities changed and he turned to medicine, taking two years of pre-med training. But during these years his artistic talent became obvious and again he changed direction, winning a five year scholarship in graphic design to the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes where he won a gold medal in art by the age of 16, after which he was offered a scholarship study grant to Firenze, Italy.
Boris decided not to go to Italy, and emigrated to the USA instead. He knew no English and had no friends or connections and only $80 in his pocket. But he met some fellow Peruvians at Nedick's Restaurant who lived in the Bronx, so he moved in with them, paying $10 a month for rent and $10 for food, giving him about 
a month to live before running out of money. One of his new Peruvian friends arranged for Boris to get a job in the advertising department of a chain store with headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut, so he worked there for six months before being transferred to the New York office where he worked for the next two years. During this time he decided to become a freelance artist, taking what commissions he could find. He specialized in fashion art and Christmas card designs, often working under considerable pressure to meet deadlines. This trait was beneficial to his career, which was about to take a new turn.
While freelancing, the young artist became interested in the comic book trade of monsters and heroes, and tried his hand at the genre with excellent results. After depositing one of his fantasy paintings with a magazine advertising director, he began getting calls from Marvel Comics for “Conan” drawings and other comic book heroes. By now, his mastery of the human physique and his superb backgrounds were fully developed, and he rose quickly to superstardom among fantasy illustrators. His first commission for a paperback book cover came from Ace Books in September, 1975. As fate would have it, the book was “I Am a Barbarian” by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Ballantine Books hired him to do additional Burroughs covers, and his 1978 Tarzan Calendar is a must-have collectible for Burroughs fans.
Boris's son, Dorian (born in 1968), has followed in his father's footsteps to become a first rate fantasy artist with international reputation. Boris will be accompanied to the 2003 Louisville Dum-Dum by his wife, Julie Bell, who has also achieved renown as a fantasy artist. On exhibition at the Burroughs Memorial Collection are two original paintings by Boris and a number of excellent prints.
George T. McWhorter, Curator,
Burroughs Memorial Collection