Artist and caricaturist Justin Murray was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He moved to Los Angeles with his family and won a scholarship at the Chouinard School of Art based on his drawing talents. Murray produced murals and theatrical scenery for the Federal Arts Project. Moving to San Francisco
in the late 1930s, his popular caricatures appeared regularly in The San Francisco Chronicle and Coast magazine. In addition, Murray produced a number of freelance caricatures of San Francisco life that found a ready market. His work is held by numerous institutions including the Library of Congress, the San Diego and Oakland Museums, and the New York Graphic Society. In 1973, Murray moved to Mendocino, California, where he died in 1987.