Adolf Benca (1959-- ), born in Stupava near Bratislava, was a child prodigy who started painting cowboys and Indians at the age of 3. In 1966 he was already illustrating children's books. In 1968 the Russian occupation of Bratislava drove his family to Vienna where he took up hunting, got interested in classical philosophy and painted mythological subjects. In 1970 & 1975 he participated in a young-artists program. Trained in many universities throughout Europe and America in various disciplines, Benca is a philosophical artist who has searched for the meaning in life and has considered most of the answers to the ultimate question of life. His vita includes over 100 museum exhibits, and over 25 magazine articles about him. Adolf Benca (1959-- ) is not to be confused with another famous Slovak painter, Martin Benka (1888 - 1971), whose motifs are Slovak ethnography and folklore.