Bernard Pfriem (1916-1996) was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He was most well-known for his large-scale hyper-realistic drawings of the human figure. Pfriem lived in Mexico from 1940-42, where he was the editor of a Spanish-English magazine published in Mexico City entitled "Mexico Habla." He was an assistant to Jose Clemente Orozco on frescoes in Jiquilpan, Mexico, and to Julio Castellanos on murals in Mexico City. He served in the United States Air Force from 1942 to 1946. Later, Pfriem served as the arts director of the Grey Falcon Press. He founded the Lacoste School of the Arts in France, and served as the school's director until 1989.