The character was created by plotter Stan Lee, writer Robert Bernstein, and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Strange Tales #108 (1963).

The Painter's premiere in Strange Tales #108 (May 1963) was a collaboration between editor and story-plotter Stan Lee, script-writer Robert Bernstein, and story-artist Jack Kirby, with inking done by Dick Ayers and Terry Szenics in charge of lettering.

[1] The character is re-imagined by Pierce Askegren in his 1996 work The Ultimate Super-Villains, edited by Lee and published by Byron Preiss.

[2] Manhattan-based Wilhelm van Vile, an aspiring painter, attempts to pass off counterfeit paintings as the real deal.

[6] Somehow the Painter is revived (or it could be presumed that it was a double who died previously), and he is seen imprisoned in a supervillain detainment facility, among numerous other foes who go against Spider-Man after being freed from their cells.

[8] Having spent many years behind bars, the Pierce Askegren version of the Painter decides to turn over a new leaf and finds a job as a professional illustrator.