Gao Hong (1926) is from Xinle, Hebei Province. In 1939, he joined an anti-enemy opera troupe of the political department of the Jin-Cha-Ji military region. In the following years, he received artistic training at a number of academies. He graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Art Academy in 1957, where he had participated in Konstantin Maksimov's painting classes. Subsequently, he worked in various art-related sections of the People's Liberation Army.

Gao, an oil painting specialist, heads the artistic office of the Chinese People's Revolutionary Army Museum.