Duncan Hannah was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1952. He attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, before transferring to Parsons School of Design in New York, New York, in 1975.

Hannah's solo and group exhibitions include “Duncan Hannah: On Paper” at Kasmin Gallery in 2023; Tennis Elbow at The Journal Gallery in New York, New York (2023); Althuis Hofland Gallery in Amsterdam, Netherlands (2023); Alon Seger Gallery in Tel Aviv, Israel (2021); Althuis Hofland Gallery in Amsterdam, Netherlands (2020); Saatchi Gallery in London, England (2019); Sam Parker Gallery in Los Angeles, California (2018); “Club 57” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York (2017); Invisible Exports in New York, New York (2017); Half Gallery in New York, New York (2017); and New Release Gallery in New York, New York (2016).

Work by Hannah is held in numerous public collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York; the Whitney Museum of Art in New York, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois; the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota; the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia; the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan; and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in 2011.

Duncan Hannah died in Cornwall, Connecticut, in 2022.