Tony Bechara was born in Puerto Rico in 1942. He came to Washington D.C. in his late teens to study at Georgetown University. After receiving his B.A. degree, Bechara was uncertain about his plans for the future and decided to travel for a period of time. His travels Ultimately landed him in Paris where he lived for a year, studying at the Sorbonne and taking advantage o the rich culture and History of the city. It was at the Louvre Museum, where Bechara recognized and Inspired by the work of Francisco Oller (1883 - 1917), a Puerto Rican painter and one of the few artists of the Americas to have made the achievement of having a permanent work in the Louvre.