Zigi Ben-Haim was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1945 to Jewish parents. His family moved to Israel and Zigi emigrated to the USA to study art in San Francisco. He has lived in New York City since 1979, and he divides his time between New York and Tel-Aviv Israel. He has received numerous grants and awards, including a Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant, a MacDowell Colony Residency, A National Endowment for ht eArts grant, among others. His work is shown internationally in both galleries and museums.