Born in Wyandotte, Michigan in 1929, Sam Karres earned a B.F.A. and M.A. in art from Wayne University.

He worked as an illustrator for Ford Motor Company for 25 years has spent the last 20 years as a full-time artist.
“In surveying the paintings of Sam Karres, a passel of other artists leap to mind. There are bold contours reminiscent of Toulouse-Lautrec, the bleakness of Sloan and Bellows, the intensity of Goya, and the anguish of Munch and Grosz.” (excerpt from “Maintaining a Broad Canvas” by George Bulanda, Hour Magazine – Feb. 2002) Karres’ output, which totals thousands of oils and watercolors dating from the 1940’s to the present, include Detroit and Wyandotte street scenes, interiors of bars and coffeehouses, as well as works depicting everything from weightlifters to dancers. An overview of his work has been compiled in the book Sam Karres: Urban Expressionist, by James F. Bloch