Peter Sylvester was born in Saalfeld (Thuringia) in 1937. From 1951 to 1954, he completed an apprenticeship as a process engraver. In 1958, he moved to Leipzig, where he attended the evening academy of the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig. His painting remained self-taught. Since 1964, Sylvester worked as a freelance artist in Leipzig and later became a member of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR. Together with other Leipzig artists, he founded the Leipziger Grafikbörse in 1972. It was the first association of artists without jury and thus censorship in the GDR and is still active today. Sylvester took over the direction and became chairman. Study trips brought him to France, Italy, Dalmatia and Central Asia. In 1974, he was awarded the medal of the 5th International Graphic Art Biennale in Krakow. In 1987, he received the Art Prize of the City of Leipzig. Sylvester died in Leipzig in 2007.