Anatoly Pronin was educated at the State University of Leningrad, Russia (now St. Petersburg) and continued to work as a photographer in the USSR through 1978 for publishing houses, magazines and museums. Three years later he was able to resume that career in the United States, and his travels have led his camera to different parts of the world at different times.

He has been exhibited in Russia, Germany, Scotland, Belgium, France, South Africa, India, The United States, and published internationally, including GRAPHIS magazine (Switzerland), Brunott Art Publishing (Nederlands), ASICS Co. (Japan), Alberta Education (Canada), Museum of the Jewish Diaspora (Israel), Encyclopedia Britannica (USA), McGraw Hill (USA), Simon & Shuster (USA), Prentice Hall (USA), Harcourt Brace (USA), Microsoft (USA)."

He won the silver medal at the 1971 Berlin International Photo Exhibition and the First Prize at the 1977-78 USSR Photo Exhibition in Moscow. Ten years later, in 1987-88 he won First Place in the City Spirit Festival competition in Jersey City and received the Certificate of Excellence from the Art Directors Club of New Jersey.

He was awarded a fellowship grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for the series of still-lives "Nature Morte" in 1990, and again for the series, "Items" in 1999.

A wide selection of his photographs is in the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of Leningrad (Russia), the New York Public Library (USA), Biliotheques Nationale de France (Paris, France), Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Germany), The Brooklyn Museum (New York, USA), The Metropolitan Museum (New York, USA), The Library of Congress (Washington D.C., USA), and Portland Museum (Oregon, USA).

His name is included in Marquis "Who's Who in American Art"