Born in Czechoslovakia, Jan Vondrous moved to the United States at an early age. Jan Vondrous moved to the United States at an early age. He studied in New York at the National Academy of Design, taking classes there in etching under James D. Smillie. His first etchings were published during the First World War and were mainly architectural views of New York and vicinity. After the end of the war (1918), Jan Vondrous spent much of the following decade etching architectural scenes of major European cities, particularly Bruges and Venice. He still maintained both his permanent home and studio in Long Island.
By 1929 Jan Vondrous returned to his native Czechoslovakia and lived and worked in Prague. During the following years he continued to both etch and paint the people and architecture of this city. Jan Vondrous was a full member of the Chicago Society of Etchers, the Print Makers' Society of California and the Hollar Society of Prague. Jan Vondrous' original etchings are included in the collections of the Modern Gallery of Prague, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Congressional Library, Washington, DC, the New York Public Library, the Kupfersitch Kabinett, Berlin, and the British Museum, London.