Sergey Smirnov was born in 1953, in the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. In 1984 Sergey graduated valedictorian from Moscow City Art College. In 1988, he became a member of the International Federation of Artists and the National Artists’ Union of Russia. By 1991 Smirnov became the Chief Editor for the Advertising and Image Creation Corporation of the Russian government’s International Trade Corporation. Smirnov won national and international awards for many of his logos and graphics. These successes spirited his sole devotion to painting by 1994. In 1996, Smirnov exhibited at the Orlean House in London.

In 1997, he was honored as only the third living artist to have a personal exhibit in the Kremlin’s Manezh. His art is included in several noteworthy Russian collections, including former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, former Prime Minister Victor Chernomirdin, former Minister of Transportation Sergey Frank, and former Minister of Defense Evgeny Shaposhnikov.

Sergey Smirnov died of a sudden heart attack in Sausalito, California as he was heading to his solo exhibition in La Jolla on November 8th, 2006.