This author, illustrator, and painter is best known for his depictions of ships and the ocean around San Pedro Harbor. Gleason (1881-1959) was born in the farming community of Watsonville, but raised in Los Angeles. Gleason studied art at the University of Southern California, Mark Hopkins Institute in San Francisco, the San Carlos Academy in Mexico City, Chicago Art Institute and Art Students League in New York. After traveling in Europe, he spent approximately 10 years working as an illustrator in New York before returning to Los Angeles in 1910. Later in his career he worked as a sketch artist for both MGM and Warner Brothers Studios.