Andrew Vester was born in Johannesburg in 1937. He obtained a National Diploma in Design (1959) from the Camberwell College of Art, London, and an Art Teacher’s Diploma (1960) from Reading University. He taught at Fine Art institutions in South Africa for a number of years before becoming a full-time artist.
He participated widely in solo and group exhibitions and did numerous public and private commissions including painting, sculpture, murals and tapestries. He is a painter, a writer of short stories, articles and radio plays. He has designed sets and costumes for operas. His work is represented in public and private collections in SA and abroad. As a writer he was winner of the BBC World Service Playwriting Competition in 1992. For instance, he was commissioned by the BBC to write a play, Future Past and in addition a short story which he wrote was broadcast by the BBC, Aileen, Marjorie, Arthur and Me. Various articles that he has written on India have been published. He has recieved numerous awards for his work.