Dusan Kadlec was born in Czechoslovakia in 1942. He pursued his interest in art from an early age, ultimately studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague where he received a Masters Degree in 1967. While a student at the Academy, he specialized in figurative painting and portraiture. The composition of his paintings reflects the tradition of the great European masters, and embodies the Romantic Classicism that is a nineteenth century academic trademark. Upon graduation, his artistic ability was recognized immediately and he began to exhibit and receive both private and state commissions. He was invited to participate in the design of Man and His World, the Czech Pavillion at the 1968 World Expo in Montreal. The Pavillion turned out to be one of the most popular exhibits at the fair. When political unrest began to affect life in Czechoslovakia,he fled his homeland and immigrated to Canada. Word quickly spread and he was busy painting commissions full time. Critical acclaim and a number of highly successful one man and two m an shows with such luminaries as Jack L. Gray, helped propel Dusan's career and firmly establish him as a leading maritime artist. Dusan Kadlec was elected to the Canadian Society of Marine Artists in 2005, and entered several of his works in the 22nd Annual Exhibition.