Robert Heindel was born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1938 and showed an interest in art from an early age. The defining moment of his artistic life came many years later, in 1966, when he and his wife were given tickets to see ballet dancers Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in “Paradise Lost.” Inspired by the fluid, graceful movement and strength, Heindel has since made it his mission to capture the beauty of dance in his art. His first international exhibition, “Obsession of Dance,” was in London, in 1958 and was attended by Her Royal Highness the Princess Margeret, Countess of Snowden.

Princess Diana was also a fan of Heindel’s work, once writing to him “Experts hold your work in the highest regard, I know, but for me it simply succeeds in capturing the spirit of dance as art.” In the ’90s, he dabbled in creating design sets and costumes and was also invited by Andrew Lloyd Webber to paint scenes from “Cats” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” He has also had shows in Tokyo, drawing praise from His Imperial Highness Prince Norihito Takamado, and his paintings appear in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.