Bo Bartlett is a young American artist with a focus on large-scale contemporary figurative painting. In his late teenage years he sought out significant painters that would help him define his artistic direction. This pursuit led him to Florence, Italy to study with Ben Long IV (a student of Italian Fresco painter Pietro Annigoni), to Boston to study with Ives Gammel, and to New York to study with Aaron Shikler and Harvey Dinnerstein. When Bo returned from Florence, he married his high school sweetheart, Melonie, and started his family, all of whom figure prominently in his work. In 1975 the Bartlett's moved to Philadelphia so that Bo could attend the University of the Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the bastion of American realism painting. There Bo studied under Ben Kamihira, Morris Blackburn, and Sidney Goodman, all well known realist painters. He also apprenticed under Nelson Shanks (the American portrait painter who painted Princess Diana of Wales, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and President Ronald Reagan). In the tradition of Thomas Eakins, Bo studied anatomy at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and Thomas Jefferson University. In 1993 Bo Bartlett received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts.

Bo's unique narrative vision is a combination of many sources including his upbringing, his faith, and his family and friends. His work implies a chance for magic and wonder in every day life. A typical Bo Bartlett painting presents an iconic American subject underlined with subtle open-ended questions. An appreciation of the painting can be based on the straightforward narrative image or evoke a more complex interpretation and response.

Aside from painting, Bo received a film making degree from NYU in 1986 and was asked by Betsy Wyeth to film a documentary on her husband Andrew Wyeth. Bo filmed, directed, and edited this project, which became the documentary Andrew Wyeth, Self Portrait: Snow Hill. As a result of their interaction, Andrew Wyeth and Bo have become close friends. The following Andrew Wyeth quote appears in the Bo Bartlett 1994 Red Catalog. "I'm a pretty critical old man. There are very few young American artists whose work I find exciting. One of them happens to be my son, Jamie. The other is Bo Bartlett. They've got it. It's there. Keep a close watch on their future."