A teacher and artist, Ernest Fiene created works in many media but was noted primarily for his landscapes of American scenes. He also did portraits, etchings, lithographs, murals and book illustrations. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he refused to isolate technique from subject matter, and incorporated his interest in human life and his optimism about humanity into his paintings.
He was born in Elberfeld, Germany, came to the United States in 1912, and was naturalized by 1927. He studied at the National Academy of Design from 1914 to 1918, at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design from 1916 to 1918, and was also at the Art Students League and in Paris at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere.
From 1938 to 1964, he taught at the Art Students League and was also a member of the supervising faculty of the Famous Artists School in Westbury, Connecticut.
Source: David Zellman, 300 Years of American Art
