Elwin Porter was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is married with 2 children, lives most of the year in South Florida and spends each Summer working at his Studio in Linville Falls, North Carolina. He was the Director of the Art Institute of Miami from 1958 to 1977 and has been the Director of the South Florida Art Institute of Hollywood since 1977, where he was chosen by the National Association of Schools of Art as one of thirty "Best Directors" from across the country. He is also the Director of the Linville Falls Art School in North Carolina.

Mr. Porter's Exhibitions include the Society of the Four Arts, Holt Gallery, and Brandeis University in Palm Beach, Florida, one-person exhibit at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, Florida, the Atlanta Art Association Gallery and the Southeastern Exhibition in Atlanta, Georgia, Gallery Three, General Capital Corporation, and the Emerald Gallery in Miami, Florida. Mr. Porter's work can also be viewed at the Carlton Gallery in Foscoe, North Carolina.