Born in Harlowton, Montana, schooled mainly in Canada, Duane O'Hagan is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art in the Fine Arts. Duane's early art career as a landscape painter attracted membership in the Ontario Society of Watercolor and the Bermuda Society of Painters. He has traveled extensively and lived in most parts of the United States. During his travels, Duane's creative talents were put to use in commercial projects creating specialized interiors for major hotels.

The call of the Southwest brought him to the Big Bend of the Rio Grande River where he began to paint once again. He now calls Northern New Mexico home. His first place of abode was a small camper alongside the river in La Madera, where he started to collect driftwood. Attracted to the Folk and Primitive Arts, he turned to crafts, making birds and small masks from the treasures the river provided.

Long attracted to the Southwest culture and history, he began to study the older works of native Kachina and mask makers. He found that these earlier works, which are frontal and visually static, emphasize their immortal and supernatural qualities.

So with a deep appreciation for these forms and the continuing gifts of cottonwood from the river, he created this series of Kachinas and masks. Each piece is a contemporary work based on earlier works currently held in museums around the world. The artist naturally has developed his own artistic formulas of paints and finishes, as well as color placements. It is the inspiration of the original works coupled with his own creative talent that make his carvings reminiscent of the old ones in spirit. Duane is clear in his intent that his works not be considered reproductions, but his own interpretations of the ancient pieces.

His creative spirit sometimes takes him on a journey away from the influence of the Southwest. When this wandering occurs, a limited collection of African and Northwest Coast art forms appear, attesting once again to the wide range of style he captures in his work.

Duane's art forms are ever evolving which makes him very collectable and someone to follow closely in the next few years.