Painter, sculptor, muralist, and printmaker Leonardo Nierman was born Leonard Nierman Mendelejis to Lithuanian and Ukrainian immigrant parents in Mexico City, on November 1, 1932. He discovered his love of art later in life, focusing first on classical music and his love of the violin, in which he trained for twenty years. In preparatory school his academic focus was on physics and mathematics. His formal higher education began in 1953 at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) with a focus on business; however, he did not complete his degree as he began turning his attention to art. After convincing the dean of the school to allow him to paint a mural on the school's auditorium in 1956, he contacted the celebrated Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueros to help him execute the work. This led to further self-taught pursuit of painting, and he left the school to focus on art.

Nierman began exhibiting his paintings in the late 1950s, and with the encouragement of art critic Raquel Tibol - who was also the secretary for Diego Rivera at the time - he was given a show at the Centro de Deportes Israeli in Mexico City. Two of his paintings were purchased by the owner of IFA Galleries in Washington, D.C., who then invited Nierman to exhibit in 1959. A professional relationship was quickly established in which the artist exhibited not only at the IFA but thoughout the U.S. and abroad through the galleries' connections. 

Among his major commissioned works is a mural at the Princeton University physics department and the stained glass windows for the Temple Beth Israel in Lomas de Chapultepec. Sculptural works can be found in Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. Other public works can be found in Lithuania, Ecuador, Mexico, and Canada. 

Leonardo Nierman died on June 7, 2023 in Mexico City.

Selected awards:
UNAM Honorable Mention (1960); Palme d'Ore des Beaux Arts, Monaco (1969); Royce Medal, New York (1970); League of Art Gold Medal, Chicago (1980); Golden Centaur and honorary master's of painting, Academy of Italy (1982); European Academic, Centro Studi De Recerch L Accademia D Europa, Italy (1984); honorary doctorate, Concordia University, Irvine, California (1995); Gloria Award, International Latino Cultural Center, Chicago (2003); Vasco de Quieroga Medal, Mexico City government, 2010.

Memberships:
Instituto de Artes Mexico; Royal Society of the Arts, London