Harry LeRoy Taskey, illustrator, printmaker, and teacher, was born to Otto and Cora Anna Presley Beckman Taskey 12 June 1892 in Rockford, Indiana. He studied at Hiram College in Ohio, 1915-1917; in New York at the Art Students League with John Sloan and Harry Sternberg, 1919-1927; and in Paris at the Académie Grande Chaumière, 1927-1929. During World War I, he served as a corporal in the 112 Engineers, 37^th Division, American Expeditionary Force, United States Army.

Between 1935 and 1943 Taskey produced most of his artwork while working for the New York Federal Art Project. His work was influenced by the architecture and social scene of New York City and works from this period include Manhattan Sheep, Battery Park, and Civic Repertory Theater.

Taskey was a member of the American Veterans Society of Artists, Artists Equity, Audubon Artists, Delaware Valley Artists, Philadelphia Society of Etchers, and the Indianapolis Society of Print Makers, and he was represented by Associated American Artists in New York. He was the recipient of the American Veterans Society of Artists prize in 1954 and an award in 1956. Taksey’s work is represented in the collections of the Asheville Art Museum, Everson Museum of Art, Library of Congress, Metropolitan Museum, Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, Museum of the City of New York, National Gallery of Art, New York Public Library, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Harry LeRoy Taskey died 9 May 1958 in Flemington, New Jersey.