Stuart and Scott Gentling were born in Rochester, Minnesota, but came to Fort Worth at the age of five when their father became the head of the anesthesiology department at Harris Hospital. The Gentlings are products of the Fort Worth school system, and both attended Tulane University and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where they studied under Walter Stuempfig and watercolorist John McCoy. Although highly regarded as independent figurative painters and quick to point out differences in their own special approaches, the two brothers have a unique sense of collaboration and have been creative partners for as long as they or anyone else can remember. With subject matters ranging from the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochitlan to Native American Indians, they are perhaps most widely recognized for their masterful book, Of Birds and Texas, a boxed portfolio of 50 paintings of birds and landscapes, published in1986 to universal acclaim. They are also self-motivated scholars, amateur archaeologists and avid collectors of objects and art with interests including 18th century musical instruments and original clothing, Audubon memorabilia, American Abstract Expressionist paintings and ancient Greek and pre-Columbian artifacts. The Gentling brothers have lectured over the years at the Fort Worth Art Museum, the Amon Carter Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Kimbell Museum where they also exhibited their paintings for the Kimbell's popular Artist's Eye lecture series.