Gary R. Swanson was born on March 17, 1942, in Alcester, South Dakota. He died on December 7, 2010, in Prescott, Arizona. He grew up in California and later lived in Washington, Alaska, and Colorado. He was an avid outdoorsman. Before becoming an artist, he worked as a professional taxidermist. He was known for his realistic paintings depicting nature and wildlife. In 1996, Swanson was inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame. His painting titled Dakota Prairie Prince served as the image for the 1996 official Norsk Høstfest art poster. Norsk Høstfest is a four-day Scandinavian cultural festival in Minot, North Dakota.

The art of Gary R. Swanson is or has been exhibited and/or offered for sale in galleries, auction houses, and independent art dealers including but not necessarily limited to the following:
Alaska Auction Co., Anchorage, AK
Altermann Galleries, Santa Fe, NM
Auktionshaus Zofingen, Zofingen, Switzerland
Austin Auction Gallery, Austin, TX
Bonhams, San Francisco, CA
Bradford's Auction Gallery, Sun City AZ
Burley Auction Gallery, New Braunfels, TX
Charleston Estate Services, Mount Pleasant, SC
Christie’s, Beverly Hills, CA
Christie’s, New York City, NY
Clark’s Fine Art, Van Nuys, CA
Dallas Auction Gallery, Dallas, TX
Doyle, New York City, NY
DuMouchelles, Detroit, MI
Eddie’s Auction, New York City, NY
EJ’s Auction, Glendale, AZ
Freeman’s | Hindman, Denver, CO
Griffin Memorabilia, Minneapolis, MN
J. Levine Auction, Scottsdale, AZ
Jackson Hole Art Auction, Jackson, WY
Jackson’s International, Cedar Falls, IA
Kraft Auctions, Valparaiso, IN
Link Auction Galleries, St. Louis, MO
Nadeau’s Auction Gallery, Windsor, CT
O’Gallerie, Portland, OR
Old Barn Auction, Findlay, OH
Palm Beach Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
Scottsdale Art Auction, Scottsdale, AZ
Simpson Galleries, Houston, TX
SKF Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
Sotheby’s, New York City, NY
South Bay Auctions, East Moriches, NY
Theodore Bruce Auctioneers, Ashfield, NSW, Australia
Weschler’s, Rockville, MD