Alan Leitner is an American abstract artist. He was born in 1947 in an ethnically diverse section of Los Angeles. Alan was the middle of three children in a Jewish family. He received his B.S. in art in 1971 from Woodbury University

Woodbury University

Woodbury University, founded as "Woodbury Business College", is a private, non-profit, coeducational, nonsectarian university located in Burbank, California.-History:...

 in Los Angeles, where he met his first wife who wanted to move to Hawaii. Also in 1971, he acquired an art foundry that produced blown glass, sculpture, ceramics and paintings, which contributed greatly to his understanding of art. In 1987, he received a M.F.A. in painting from the University of Hawaii at Manoa

University of Hawaii at Manoa

The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...

. The graduate program required students to do some teaching, and through this teaching he met Alyn Brownley who at the time headed the art program at Leeward Community College

Leeward Community College

Leeward Community College is a public, commuter community college adjacent to the in the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. The main campus also houses the temporary campus of the University of Hawaii-West Oahu...

. Brownley requested Alan to teach her art class for one semester while she pursued a move to University of Hawaii at Manoa

University of Hawaii at Manoa

The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...

. After graduation, Dr. John Conner, the department associate dean, offered Alan a full-time teaching position at Leeward Community College

Leeward Community College

Leeward Community College is a public, commuter community college adjacent to the in the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. The main campus also houses the temporary campus of the University of Hawaii-West Oahu...

. Alan also taught at Honolulu Community College

Honolulu Community College

Honolulu Community College is a public, co-educational commuter college in Honolulu, Hawaii.The campus is located at 874 Dillingham Bloulevard, north of downtown Honolulu between Honolulu harbor and the neighborhood of Kapālama, at ....

 and University of Hawaii at Manoa

University of Hawaii at Manoa

The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...

.

Leitner's art is abstract, utilizing muted earth tones as the main colors. He often affixes various objects to his canvases. The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu

The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu

The now defunct Contemporary Museum, Honolulu was the only museum in the state of Hawaii devoted exclusively to contemporary art. The Contemporary Museum had two venues: in residential Honolulu at the historic Spalding House, and downtown Honolulu at First Hawaiian Center.-Collection:Artists...

 and the Honolulu Academy of Arts

Honolulu Academy of Arts

The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...

are among the public collections holding works by Alan Leitner.