Some working artists publicly describe their own lives and work as vegan, and this page names only artists verified in that specific way: each has said it themselves, on their own website, in their own book, or in their own interview answers, and the source is given beside each name. Plenty of "vegan artist" lists circulate online, but a list someone else compiled is not proof of anything, so none of the names here rest on one.
One distinction runs through the whole page. An artist's statement that their life or message is vegan is separate from the materials inside any single artwork. Several of the artists below work in oil paint or graphite, media that can each be vegan or not depending on the exact product. The vegan art hub covers that materials side in depth; this page is about the artists and their own words.
Key takeaways
- Every artist named here has publicly connected their own life or work to veganism, and the place where they said it is stated.
- Dana Ellyn said in an interview that she went vegan, and describes her paintings as asking why we love some animals and eat others.
- Philip McCulloch-Downs writes on his own website that he became a vegan activist in 2005 and an animal rights artist in 2014.
- Jo Frederiks' website presents her art as a way to inspire change to a vegan way of life, and Sue Coe authored The Animals' Vegan Manifesto.
- An artist's vegan statement is about their life and message; the materials in a specific artwork always need their own check.
How this page chooses names
The rule is simple: the artist's own words, in a source we actually read, or the name stays out. That means the artist's own website, a book they authored, or an interview where the statement appears in their answers rather than in the interviewer's framing. Secondhand lists, fan pages, and search summaries do not qualify, because they usually trace back to one another rather than to the artist. People also change over time, so treat each statement as what the artist said at the time it was published, and go to the artist's current website for the present tense.
Dana Ellyn
The painter Dana Ellyn described the change herself in an interview published on the website of the animal advocacy organization Animal Outlook. In her own answers she said she had been vegetarian first and then "went vegan", and she described her animal paintings as asking why we love some animals and eat others. Her own website lists works in oil and acrylic on canvas and board, which makes her a good example of the distinction above: her statement is about her life and her subjects, and says nothing about pigment ingredients.
Philip McCulloch-Downs
The painter Philip McCulloch-Downs states it directly on his own website, philipdownsart.co.uk: "Became a vegan activist in 2005 and an animal rights artist in 2014." The same biography describes ethical and vegan themes surfacing repeatedly in his work, and his site notes that his paintings are acrylic on canvas board, stretched canvas, or paper. Acrylic paint uses a synthetic binder, though individual pigments still vary by product, a nuance covered in our page on animal-derived pigments.
Jo Frederiks
The painter Jo Frederiks presents the connection on her own website, jofrederiksart.com, which describes her as a full-time practising artist exposing the plight of animals used for food, clothing, entertainment, and research, with the stated aim of inspiring "change to a vegan way of life". The same page says she favours graphite and oil paint. Graphite is a mineral, and oil paint's usual binder, linseed oil, is pressed from flax seed, while its pigments can come from many sources. So even for an artist with a vegan message, the materials question stays open until it is asked.
Sue Coe
Sue Coe's clearest public vegan statement is a book she made herself: The Animals' Vegan Manifesto, published by OR Books in 2017 and illustrated with 115 of her black-and-white woodcuts, according to the publisher's catalogue. In an interview with Splice Today she described her position in her own words: "I'm a social political artist with a preference for covering animals." We limit the claim to exactly that record: an artist who put the word vegan in the title of her own book of prints.
| Artist |
Where the vegan statement appears |
Stated medium |
| Dana Ellyn |
Her own answers in an Animal Outlook interview |
Oil and acrylic (per her website) |
| Philip McCulloch-Downs |
His own website biography |
Acrylic (per his website) |
| Jo Frederiks |
Her own website |
Graphite and oil paint (per her website) |
| Sue Coe |
Her book The Animals' Vegan Manifesto (OR Books, 2017) |
Woodcut prints (per the publisher) |
Finding and supporting artists with a vegan practice
The artists above show the pattern for finding more. Start from the artist's own website and read the biography and artist statement, then look for interviews where the artist answers in the first person. Ask direct questions by email; artists who hold the position tend to answer plainly, and the ones who publish materials lists make verification easy. Many artists with a vegan practice paint animals as their subject, a much older tradition explored in our page on animals in art, and our guide on how to verify vegan art turns the checking process into a practical list.
Support works the same way it does for any living artist: buy originals, commission work, and share the artist's own pages rather than secondhand summaries. At VanArtHub we have not audited our artists' materials and we do not label paintings vegan. What we offer instead is the direct route: ask about a specific work and we will put the materials question to the artist before you buy, and the 14-day trial lets you return the piece for a full refund if it is not right at home. The wider habit of buying fewer, better-sourced works has its own page, collecting with intention, on our sustainable art side.
Common questions
Were any famous historical artists vegan?
This page does not claim any. Its standard is the artist's own published statement, and historical diets and beliefs rarely survive in a form that meets it. We name only artists whose own words we can point to in a named source.
Does buying from a vegan artist guarantee a vegan painting?
No. An artist's statement about their life or message is separate from the ingredients in one artwork. Pigments, canvas preparation, paper sizing, and varnish each need their own check if a fully vegan object matters to you.
How can I verify an artist's vegan statement myself?
Go to the source. Read the artist's own website and interviews where the statement appears in their first-person answers, and treat third-party lists only as leads to check, never as proof.
Can I ask VanArtHub whether a specific painting is vegan?
Yes. VanArtHub has not audited every artist's materials and does not label paintings vegan, but ask about a specific work and we will put the materials question to the artist before you buy.
Artists who paint animals with conviction are well represented in our own gallery too. Browse original works in the animal art collection and in contemporary art, and ask us the materials question about any piece you are considering.
