Grant Arnold was born in 1955 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He studied there at the University of Saskatchewan, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1980. Arnold then served as assistant curator at the Photographers' Gallery and then at the Mendel Art Gallery (1982-1986). Arnold later moved to Ontario to become Head Curator at the Windsor Art Gallery, and eventually to Vancouver to study art history at the University of British Columbia. In 1992, he became curator at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Arnold co-authored a volume on photographer Scott McFarland (Scott McFarland, 2009) and a retrospective on artist Ken Lum (2009).
Grant Arnold lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he teaches at the University of British Columbia. He is no longer active as an artist.
