李可染（1907年-1989年），江苏徐州人。13岁师从乡贤钱食芝学习传统山水画，16岁入上海私立美专师范科学习。1929年以优异的成绩入杭州西湖国立艺术院，破格录取为研究生，师从林风眠、法国名画家克罗多两位教授，研习西画。1943年应聘为重庆国立艺专讲师，从事中国画教学、创作。1946年应徐悲鸿之聘，为国立北平艺专中国画教授，同时师从齐白石、黄宾虹，潜心于民族传统绘画的研究与创作。
　　新中国成立后，他进一步致力于中国画艺术的革新。以“可贵者胆，所要者魂”、“用最大的功力打进去，用最大的勇气打出来”为座右铭，使古老的山水画艺术获得了新的生命。可染先生的山水深厚凝重，博大沉雄，以鲜明的时代精神和艺术个性，促进了民族传统绘画的嬗变与升华。可染先生自成体系的教育思想，形成了活跃于画坛的“李可染学派”。他不仅是画坛辛勤耕耘70余年的一代宗师，而且在艺术观念的开拓上也做出了重要贡献。其影响早已越出美术界，受到各方面的高度评价。
　　Li Keran was born in Jiangsu’s Xuzhou in 1907. When he was 13, he followed Qian Shizhi, a local wisdom, to study traditional mountain and river painting. At the age of 16, he was enrolled by the Normal Section of Shanghai Private School of Fine Arts. In 1929, he was enrolled by Hangzhou Xihu Lake National Arts Institute as a postgraduate exceptionally with his outstanding score, and followed Professor Lin Fengmian and Claude, a well-known France artist to study western paintings. In 1943, he was employed as a lecturer at Chongqing National School of Arts and engaged in teaching and innovation of Chinese paintings. In 1946, upon employment of Xu Beihong, he acted as a professor of Chinese painting at the National School of Arts of Peiping while following Qi Baishi and Huang Binhong in the study and innovation of national traditional paintings with great concentration.
　　Following the foundation of New China, he further devoted his energy to innovation of Chinese painting arts, and took the mottos of “courage being the commendable part whereas soul being the expected part” and “being in with utmost power and being out with utmost boldness”, which revitalize the ancient mountain and river painting arts. The profound, condensed, and grand mountain and river paintings made by Mr. Keran have promoted evolutions and elevations of national traditional paintings upon their fresh age spirit and artistic individuality. His self-contained education ideals have formed “Li Keran School” active in the field of painting. He is not only a great master who has worked arduously for more than 70 years in the field of painting, but also a man who has made important contributions in exploring artistic concepts. His influence has been beyond the field of fine arts and been highly favored by various social circles.