Tom Wesselmann was born in Cincinnati / Ohio on 23 February 1931. Between 1945 and 1951 he studied at the Hiram College in Ohio before studying psychology at Cincinnati university. One year later he was called up for military service due to the Korea war. Being discontented with his situation he began to draw cartoons at that time. In 1954 he resumed his studies and apart from this he attended the art academy. He moved to New York and attends Cooper Union School for Arts and Architecture in 1956. He earned his living by working as a cartoonist for several journals and magazines as well as by teaching at a highschool in Brooklyn. At the end of the fifties a series of collages in small format were created being regarded as precursors of the later series "Great American Nudes" and "Still life" in big format.