Noted illustrator and impressionist painter, Bernard Fuchs was born in O'Fallon, Illinois, and was born at home because the town had no hospital. His parents had an unhappy marriage, and the father left the family, which moved into the home of his mother's parents in O'Fallon. For him, it was a lonely childhood, and reportedly he was very quiet. However, big band music became a part of his life, and he became an accomplished trumpet player. Also several local people were very supportive of him as he was growing up.

By the time he had graduated from high school, he had shown interest in art, primarily drawing Disney characters, but had never painted a picture nor had anyone encouraged him. Just after his graduation, he i...