Allen Dester Carter known as ‘Big Al’ Carter, was an Alexandria, Virginia artist and public school art teacher in Washington, D.C.

When profiled by The Washington Post Magazine in May 2006, Carter estimated that he had 20,000 works of art—”from intricate etchings to enormous Day-Glo paintings”—in the 900-square-foot space where he lived.

Carter received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio in 1972 and returned to Washington to do post-graduate work and teach at American University. In 1995 he received an Honorary Master of Fine Arts degree, also from the Columbus College of Art and Design.