Gail Chadell Nanao was born in New York City and received her B.F.A. at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1962 where her teachers were Nathan Oliveira, James Weeks and Frank Lobdell. Her works have always been figurative and her subject matter most often nudes. Her style is distinctive but can be easily identified with the San Francisco Figurative movement started by David Park in the late 1950s. There is a sort of mysticism in her figurative paintings and her heavy use of impasto makes a sensory experience when looking at her works. Not only does she do large oil paintings but also does works on paper including monoprints. She has had one-person exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Art Artists Gallery, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and galleries in San Francisco and Japan. Group exhibitions are numerous. She received a Ford Foundation Grant for Tamarind Studio in 1968.