Lowell Tolstedt earned an M.A. degree in painting and drawing from the State University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, and a B.F.A. degree from the State University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota. He was Dean of the Division of Fine Arts at The Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio for 24 years. Tolstedt has had many one-man exhibitions and has participated in two-man and group exhibitions nationally. In addition, he has been awarded prestigious fellowships, from the National Endowment for the Arts and from the Ohio Arts Council.

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Tolstedt is known for his exquisite drawings done in silverpoint, gold point, and colored pencil. His works range from intimate to mural in scale. His subjects, chosen from everyday life and experience, are investigated with a sensitive and penetrating intellect. His drawings are often iconic presentations, simultaneously recalling the American tradition of still-life painting and engaging the viewer with contemporary questions about the fundamental relationship between reality, perception, abstraction, and creation.