Paul Jenkins was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He began his studies at the Kansas City Art Institute and resumed study at the Art Students League in New York with Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Morris Kantor following service in World War II. An interest in and association with the Abstract Expressionists led Jenkins to develop a technique for directing poured paint on canvas with an ivory knife.
Jenkins exhibited in New York City throughout his lifetime with his first solo show held in 1954 at the Martha Jackson Gallery. Later exhibitions were held at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the San Francisco Museum of Art, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In 1997, Jenkins was elected to the National Academy, and his work can be found in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others.
