Gordon Samstag studied at the Washington University Art School in St. Louis and then later at the National Academy School under Charles Hawthorne, Ivan Olinsky, Jones and Neilson (1924-1928). In 1928 he won the Pulitzer Travelling Scholarship and studied in Paris at the Academie Colarossi. Later he taught at the National Academy School (1932-38). In 1934 he married Anne Lawton Davis.
Samstag painted murals in the post offices in Reidsville, North Carolina and in Scarsdale, New York (1940). In the early 1960s he taught at the Royal Melbourne Technical College in Australia. He also taught at the Art Students League and at the American Art School in New York City.
He had one man shows at Montross (1936, 1938) and Milch (1950) galleries. His favorite subjects are workers such as nurses and African Americans. In addition to painting, he worked in illustration and advertising.
