Lewis Cohen began his interest in art at a young age. He copied master drawings for practice and soon started taking evening classes at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Later, after he gained national recognition in a high-school art competition and met Harold Tovish, a sculptor and professor at the University of Minnesota, Cohen realized he would pursue an art career in sculpture. He went on to study drawing and sculpture at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
In 1962 Cohen received an art scholarship, the Prix de Rome, and worked in Rome and Paris. When he returned from Europe five years later, he headed to the West Coast and California State University, Long Beach. However, Cohen seemed to thrive more on the East Coast, so, when he heard of an opening at the College of William and Mary, he eagerly applied and was accepted. He was a professor of art and art history at the College for about 19 years.
Cohen considers himself first an artist, then a teacher, never having the desire to be only a sculptor.
