Richard Prince is an artist working in New York who was born in 1949 in the Panama Canal Zone to an American family. He was raised in a suburb of Boston and educated at Nasson College in Maine. One of his early artistic influences was the art of Jackson Pollock. From the mid 1970s, Prince used a method of “rephotography” and appropriation of commercial advertising images which would define his style. His subject matter consistently revolves around the American identity. Some of his most famous works include his Cowboys, Celebrities, Jokes, Gangs and Nurses series, all of which borrow from pre-existing images or texts. His sculptures often incorporate iconic suburban items, from car parts to basketball hoops. He established a museum for himself in 2001, which was purchased by the Guggenheim Museum, though it was destroyed in an accident in 2007.