The artist, Friedolin Kessler (1913-1995), was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 12, 1913, and was the only son of Czech and German parents. At age sixteen, he enrolled in art school at Washington University in St. Louis. After he graduated, he joined the Missouri Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Then in 1936, he was relocated to California with his camp, where they settled in the New Almaden Quicksilver County Park. As the resident artist, the CCC hired him to document life in the work camp. His specialty was linoleum cuts, though he also created paintings, wood art, and mosaics. In 1938, he took a bicycle trip to photograph and then sketch every California Mission, later producing linoleum cuts of each mission. Those prints were exhibited around California, including at the Golden Gate International Exposition at Treasure Island and the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.

Kessler spent most of his life in San Jose and became a well-known local artist. In 1938 with his wife Carol, he co-founded the San Jose Art League and taught art at San Jose State College, Stanford, and in the San Jose Adult Education System. The combined artwork of the Kesslers spans 70 years. The Kesslers were avid hikers and back-packed up Mt. Whitney with friends Allen and Cindy Perry. In the Kesslers' later years, the Perrys helped care for Carol and Friedolin as they continued to produce artwork. Friedolin died of cancer in 1995 at the age of 82. They had no children.