Born in Hlinne, Czechoslovakia, Stoffa came to this country at the age of seven. Motivated by a high school scholarship, he received his formal art education at Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, the Pennsylvania Academy and the Art Students League. His inspiration came from both life and nature, and he generously shared it through painting, teaching and giving demonstrations for over fifty years. The artist was the recipient of numerous awards and his work is represented at the Canajoharie Art Museum and in public and private collections here and abroad.

Stoffa opened the Michael Stoffa Gallery in 1964 and became a well-established member of the art and business community in Rockport. After four years as vice-president, he served two terms as president of the Rockport Art Association.

"To me, art is a way of life. I believe paintings should grow on the viewers so that they will find excitement in the work for many years."

Michael Stoffa

He was selected One of the Top Ten Volunteers of the North Shore in 1990 and Rockport's 1991 Small Business Person of the Year. The artist appeared on the television news magazine, Chronicle, and on the Great Country Inns segment on The Learning Channel. His unique autobiography, Michael Stoffa: Artist and Storyteller, was published in 1999 and is illustrated with forty color plates of his paintings. It was introduced in Washington, D.C., where his reception was followed by a Slovakian ambassador's dinner, at which time he presented the Embassy with an autographed book and his painting, Krasna Horka.

He held memberships in the Rockport Art Association, North Shore Arts Association, (where he received a Distinguished Service Award), Artists Fellowship, Burr Artists, International Society of Marine Painters, and Salmagundi Club. He is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Art, Who's Who in the East, and Who's Who, International Biography.