Gilbert Young is a painter, muralist, graphic artist, conservator and arts advocate. Born in Cincinnati Ohio in 1941, Gilbert Young studed at the Cincinnati Art Academy and University of Cincinnati, and received conservation training under the tutelage of Byron Adams.

Gilbert Young's works show African Americans as a people of a rich heritage and a positive and colorful future. As Gilbert Young states, "My objecive is to illustrate Black life as a positive form locked in holy matrimony with mankind. I attempt to treat each work as a personal and intimate involvement with the subject. This allows it to develop its own distinctive character as I form my own interpretation. I frequently restrict my use of color and often leave the backgrounds white and uncluttered in an attempt to show that emotions and feelings of mankind are timeless and universal."

Gilbert Young is a frequent lecturer, active in the community, and has received a multitude of commissions and awards.