Robert Sudlow, A Kansas native and graduate of the University of Kansas, worked his way through college drawing snakes for the university's herpetology department. Sudlow was a friend and student of Albert Bloch, a professor at the university and former participant in the Blaue Reiter group in Germany. Sudlow's studies were interrupted by World War II. After serving three years as a naval aviator, Sudlow returned to the University of Kansas, completed his studies, and was hired by Albert Bloch as an assistant art instructor. Sudlow later spent a year in Paris, completed work towards an M.A. at California College of Arts and Sciences, and eventually returned to the University of Kansas as an art instructor.
