Edward Laning was born 1906, in Petersburg, Illinois. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago (1923-24), and the University of Chicago (1925-27). He also studied at the Art Students League, with Max Weber, Boardman Robinson, John Sloan and Kenneth Hayes Miller (1927-30). He was a member of the American Society of Painters Sculptors and Gravers. His works have been displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago (1945), the Carnegie Institute (1945), and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (1944-45). His work can be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New York Public Library, and the Richmond Professional Institute. In addition, his works can be seen at U.S. Post Offices in Rockingham, North Carolina, and Bowling Green, Kentucky. He was the author of The Sketch Books of Reginald Marsh and Perspective for Artists. He taught art at the Art Students League (1932-33, 1945-50, and 1952) and the Kansas City Art Institute.