Frazer was born in Canberra, 1961 and moved to New Zealand in 1965. He completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch in 1985. In 1986 he attended the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, New York, USA. In 2000 he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from the College of Fine Arts, Sydney, Australia. Neil Frazer has had 30 solo exhibitions in New Zealand and Australia since 1984. He has received many premier awards and fellowships in New Zealand and Australia, including the 1992 Frances Hodgkin's Fellowship at the University of Otago. His work is included in major public, corporate and private collections in New Zealand including the National Bank, Fletcher Challenge and the Robert McDougall Art Gallery.