Harold Foster (1892–982) was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He then moved with his family to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1906. At the age of 18 he quit school to support his family, working as a prize-fighter, a guide in the wilds of Manitoba and a gold prospector. In 1921 Foster travelled to Chicago on a bicycle to attend classes at the Art Institute. From there he went to the National Academy of Design and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.