Success came early to Ronnie Landfield. Born in the Bronx, he studied at the Art Students League, the Kansas City Art Institute, the San Francisco Art Institute, and the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1960s. In 1965, Landfield returned to New York and settled in a studio. He exhibited in group shows at the Bykert, Bianchini, and Park Place Galleries, before earning his first solo exhibition at David Whitney Gallery in 1969. He has taught at the School of Visual Arts and the Art Students League, and in 1995, Landfield received a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. His paintings are in major national and international museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art.

During his career, Landfield has produced work ranging from stained abstractions to thickly painted landscapes. His paintings often feature intense color.