Ali Cavanaugh was born in St. Louis in 1973 and has worked as a professional artist for 17 years. Her compositions are strong and intuitive, thanks not only to being a wife and mother but also to the variations in her experience—such as hearing loss—that made her adapt to and recreate the world around her.
Cavanaugh was awarded the prestigious Presidential Scholarship from the David Wolcott Kendall Foundation, a four-year, full-tuition merit scholarship. This allowed her to study painting at Kendall College of Art and Design and in 1994 She was accepted into the New York Studio Residency Program in New York City. Cavanaugh earned a BFA with an emphasis in painting in 1995. In 1996, she co-founded the New School Academy of Fine Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
She has had 40+ solo and group exhibitions in galleries throughout the U.S. Cavanaugh’s art has been featured in publications such as New American Paintings no.88, American Art Collector, American Artist Watercolor, Watercolor Artist magazine, Southwest Art magazine, International Artist magazine, Art Calendar magazine, and The Daniel Smith Art Supply Catalogue.