Carl Gawboy was born and raised in Ely, and is enrolled in the Bois Forte Tribal Nation. He graduated from Ely High School in 1960 and went on to earn a B.A. in Art, with a minor in Art History, from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1965. After teaching art in Michigan for a year, he returned to Ely to teach for two more years before completing his graduate studies in 1973 at the University of Montana in Missoula. Gawboy later taught in the Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota–Duluth, and the College of St. Scholastica, retiring in 1992.
Although watercolor is his primary medium, Gawboy has also completed significant acrylic mural work, including pieces for the Superior Public Library, the Bois Forte Heritage Center, and Grand Portage National Monument.
Carl is the author and illustrator of the book Fur Trade Nation: An Ojibwe’s Graphic History and creator of the 2026 Fur Trade Nation FDL Calendar.