Herzog grew up in Stuttgart, but was evacuated from the city during the aerial bombardment of the Second World War during which he lost his parents to typhoid and cancer. Shortly after he dropped out of school and found works as a seaman on ships. In 1952, he moved to Toronto, Montreal, and finally to Vancouver in 1953.

Fred Herzog’s work is primarily focused on the working class and their connections to the city they live in. He works with slide film which limited his ability to exhibit as in the 1950s and 1960s, most art work exhibited was in black and white. Herzog’s following has grown, however, in the recent decades and his work has now appeared in several books and galleries, including the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Fred Herzog is represented by Equinox Gallery, Vancouver