David Shapiro was an American poet, literary critic, and art historian. He wrote some twenty volumes of poetry, literary, and art criticism. He was first published at the age of thirteen, and his first book was published when he was eighteen.

Jean-Marie Haessle was a French-American painter. He is primarily known for his abstract, geometrical, and impressionist paintings. His work is associated with American Modernism and makes use of Color Field composition.