Born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1918, Byron Randall was raised in Salem, Oregon, where he worked as a waiter, harvest hand, boxer, and cook for the Marion County jail to finance his art career.

When Randall was 21 years old, a solo show at the Whyte Gallery in Washington D.C. brought his work to national critical attention and launched his professional career. That show was followed by others, over the years, in Oregon, New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, Toronto, Montreal, Edinburgh and Inverness, Scotland.