In 1911, George K. Withers was born in Wichita, Kansas. He attended Kansas University in Lawrence, Kansas where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Art. He worked for several advertising agencies as a magazine and advertising illustrator. He illustrated stories for many authors including J. D. Salinger and several magazines such as Redbook, Field and Stream, Good Housekeeping, Army Talks, etc.

From 1943 to 1946, he served during World War II as a war artist, for the U.S. Army, in the European Theater of Operations, primarily in England and France. These watercolors and ink drawings were spontaneous, and documented soldiers and the people they interacted with.