Prescott Chaplin (1897-1968), printmaker, painter, writer and lecturer, was born in Seattle, Washington but raised in Boston, Massachusetts where he was educated in private schools. He studied writing with George Sterling, Jack London and Herbert Forder, and art with George Bellows, William M. Chase, Max Bori and John Butler.

Chaplin was a rover and over the years he wrote for newspapers and periodicals across the country. In 1930, he published a portfolio of woodcuts entitled Mexican Woodcuts, which was exhibited nationally at colleges and galleries as well as in Mexico and Cuba. His other published books include To What Green Altar? and Pershing Square.

After establishing himself in Los Angeles in the 1930s, he eventually opened the Prescott Chaplin School of Art. During the 1930s and 1940s he wrote screenplays for Hollywood and his list of credit included Private Jones, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, For Women Only, and Women of the North Country.

Chaplin was a member of the Chicago Galleries Association, Santa Barbara Art Association and the International Print Guild. His work is represented in numerous private and public collections including the Los Angeles Public Library, Scripps College and Lehigh University.