Vija Celmins (October 25, 1938) is an American-Latvian artist best known for her photo-realistic replications of natural environments and phenomena in many mediums including several printmaking techniques, charcoal and eraser, paint, and graphite. Currently based in New York, Celmins was born in Riga, Latvia and immigrated to Indianapolis with her family at age ten following the end of World War II. Celmins began drawing by replicating images in comic books, playing cards, and magazines. In 1955, Celmins attended the John Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis. She was then awarded a fellowship to Yale’s Norfolk Summer School of Art where she befriended Chuck Close and Brice Marden. Celmins finished her education at the University of California, Los Angeles. She remained in California, instructing college courses until the 1980s. Celmins has received commendations including a Fellow Award in the Visual Arts from United States Artists in 2009. Her work is held in collections such as the Art institute of Chicago; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.