Alexander Valdman was born in 1956 in Odessa, Ukraine. Since the age of five, Alexander was receiving private art lessons. At the age of 12, he relocated to the Boarding Art School at Surikov National Academy of Art in Moscow from which Alexander graduated with honors in 1974. While in Art School, he participated in over twenty exhibition and won the first prize at the Second International Children Art Exhibit. In 1974, Alexander was admitted to the Surikov National Academy of Art, School of Graphics, from which he graduated with honors in 1980. His studies included oil painting, gouache, tempera, etching, linocut as well as unique graphics, prints, posters and book illustration.

Since 1980, Alexander has worked with various publishing houses in Russia including Detskaya Literatura Publishers, Progress-Raduga, Abris, Ex Mo, Centrepolygraph, Selena and others. He made original illustrations and covers for over 120 books and magazines (including the Bible and the works of Shakespeare, Dostoyevski, Tolstoi, Agatha Christie, Isaac Asimov, Gerald Durrell, John le Carré; historical novels, children and nature books, Sci-Fi, fantasy, adventure books and many others). He also produced original posters, comics, cartoons, and unique graphic works.

In addition to his work as an original illustrator, Alexander is a prolific painter whose works have been exhibited in Europe since 1992 (that includes two solo exhibitions). Over 500 of his works are in private collections in Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and the US including the Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection at Zimmerli Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and C.A.S.E. Museum of Contemporary Art, Jersey City, New Jersey.