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Edward Laning was born in Petersburg, IL, in 1906 and studied at Amherst College, the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Chicago, and the Arts Student League.  He taught drawing for many years at the Art Students League of New York, Cooper Union, the Kansas City Art Institute, and Pratt Institute.  He painted numerous murals in many public buildings throughout the United States, including the New York City Public Library and Ellis Island.  His works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Nelson Gallery of Art.  During World War II he served as artist-correspondent for Life magazine in the Aleutian Islands and Italy.  He authored numerous articles and pamphlets including Perspective for Artists: Edward Laning (Pitman, 1967), "Memoirs of a WPA Painter" (American Heritage, October 1970), and "Spoon River Revisited" (American Heritage, June 1971).  Laning passed away in 1981, survived by his wife Mary Fife Laning.

In assessing his work, the Smithsonian Institution writes: "In his work, Laning expressed his disenchantment with the political and social uncertainties of post-Depression America and his perception of the degradation of American values." 

Jim McSweeney was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and received a BA in Political Science from San Francisco State University and a MA in American History from San Jose State University.  He worked for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for 40 years, serving in senior leadership positions at its San Francisco, Laguna Niguel, and Atlanta facilities as well as the Office of Presidential Libraries (College Park, Maryland).  He inaugurated innovative public programs with leading social, cultural, and academic institutions, including the Carter, Truman, and Roosevelt Presidential Libraries, Georgia Public Broadcasting, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, the Smithsonian Institute, the Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society, the Atlanta Federal Executive Board, and the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.  

In August 2023, Jim launched McSweeney Research and Consulting LLC, a private firm offering archival and genealogical research services, educational training opportunities, and consultation services related to the use of primary (archival) sources.  

Jim is a professed baseball junkie, ardent jazz enthusiast, and pet lover; his grandkids know these qualities only too well.