Anthony Waichulis

Anthony Waichulis (b. 1972) built a career on making the eye doubt what it thinks it knows. A leading figure in contemporary trompe l’oeil, he marries exacting craft with a restless curiosity about how we see—treating perception itself as a studio tool. From his base in northeastern Pennsylvania, Waichulis’s paintings have traveled widely, appearing at the Smithsonian, the National Arts Club, the Butler Institute, the Arnot Art Museum, the John F. Peto Museum, Art Basel, the Los Angeles Art Show, the Orlando Museum of Art, and the Beijing World Art Museum, among others. In 2006, the Art Renewal Center named him a “Living Master”—the first trompe l’oeil painter to receive the honor—recognition that mirrored his standing in publications devoted to realism, from Fine Art Connoisseur to American Art Review. He is represented by Gallery 1261 (Denver), Meyer Gallery (Santa Fe), Principle Gallery (Alexandria), Robert Lange Studios (Charleston), and Lovett’s Gallery (Tulsa).

Education is the second thread of Waichulis’s story. In 2010, his renowned Waichulis Studio joined philanthropist Tim Reynolds’s global nonprofit to form the ÀNI Art Academies, where Waichulis serves as co-founder, Provost, and curriculum designer. The program—structured, empirical, and tuition-free—now operates in multiple countries, training representational artists with rigor and clarity. As a lecturer and juror for institutions, organizations, and venues such as IX Arts and the International ARC Salon, he advocates for evidence-based artistic development, bridging studio practice with insights from vision science and cognitive psychology.

Painter, teacher, and inveterate clarifier, Waichulis continues to balance an active studio practice with mentorship and thought leadership. His through-line is consistent: meticulous craft, perceptual inquiry, and intellectual honesty—three forces working together to keep realism alive, relevant, and continually surprising.