Fred Gutzeit was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1940. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Art from 1959 to 1962, and Hunter College, New York, from 1977 to 1979. He has exhibited widely and is represented in several private collections. In the tradition of Claude Monet, he created a series of paintings in 1977 that chronicled a close-up section of sidewalk at different times of day and under various weather conditions. Another body of work features mixed-media assemblages and installations created from discarded work gloves (which he collects himself and sometimes paints over in bright colors), mirrors, and neon, among other materials.

His work was widely exhibited in New York City and international galleries, and throughout his career, earned him three Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants. His paintings are in the collections of the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.; U.S. Sen. Corey Booker of New Jersey; art critic Arthur Danto; curator Robert Storr; gallerist Klaus Kertess; collectors James Wagner and Barry Hoggard collection; and art dealer Allan Stone. In addition, Fred held various teaching positions at the Pratt Institute, the Brooklyn Museum Art School and New York University, all in New York City.