Printmaker and multi media artist Jack Damer was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on July 9, 1938. His formal art education began at Carnegie Mellon University where he earned his Bachelor's in printmaking/drawing 1960 and his Master's in 1966. He was awarded the Philadelphia Print Club Purchase Award for best lithography in black and white that same year, and upon graduation he traveled to Europe on a research grant to take print workshops at the British Museum and ateliers in Paris. On his return, applied for an assitant teaching position at University of Wisconsin, Madison, and was quickly granted the position after an interview. At this time he was introduced to lithography, in which he began to work almost exclusively. He was an assistant professor of art until 1970 when he recieved his professorship, taking over the classes of Alfred Sessler upon his death. He continues to teach at UWM today.

In addition to his professorship, he has been a guest lecturer and workshop leader at a variety of schools and galleries throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the Oxbow Summer School (visiting artist, 1972); Lakeside Studio (Master printer for Richard Hunt, 1972); the National Print Symposium at the University of South Dakota (invited artist/lecturer, 1975); Middlesex Polytechnic, England (visiting artist, 1980); Philadelphia Print Club (public lecture, "The History of Lithography," 180); Milwaukee Art Center (gallery talk, 1982); Illinois State University and Concordia Univerity, Montreal, Canada (visiting artist, 1985); Madison, WI Attorney's Office (lecture on the investigation of lithography fraud, 1987); University of the Arts, Philadelphia (workshop and critique, 1990); University of Iowa Print Department (visiting artist, lecture/critique, 1996); Southern Graphics Council, Austin, TX (paper, "Teaching Printmaking - the 800 lb. Gorilla," 2001); Landfall Press, Santa Fe, NM (workshop/lecture, 2005); University of Indiana - Bloomington (three-day workshop and lectures, 2010); among others. 

Damer's extensive exhibition list includes multiple annual shows in the U.S. and abroad, including in England, Japan, China, and Europe every year from 1964 to 2011. His work is included in the collections of the Center for Fine Print Research, Bristol, England; Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, PA; Milwaukee Art Center; Brooklyn Museum; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Society of American Graphic Artists, NY; Philadelphia Print Club; Elvehjem Museum of Art, WI; Madison Art Center, WI; Museum of Art, Lodz, Poland; Library of Congress; Springfield Art Museum, MO; Grunwald Center for Graphic Arts, UCLA; Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, Wash., D.C.; Kennedy Museum of American Art, OH; Whitney Museum; Portland Art Museum, OR; Center for the Arts, Vero Beach, FL; and Taipei Art Museum, Taiwan, among many others.