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Writer and illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans was born in Meran, Austria-Hungary (now Italy) on 27 April 1898, emigrating to the United States at a young age after a difficult childhood. He began work as a cartoonist while living in New York and soon created his first series, The Thrilling Adventures of the Count Bric a Brac, a short-lived feature in the New York World. In the early 1930s, Bemelmans began publishing children’s books and in 1939 published his first Madeline book. It wasn't until 1953 that he published his second book starring the little girl and only four more were published during his lifetime with one additional story published posthumously. Bemelmans also wrote a number of adult novels, stories and movie scripts, which though prolific, never saw the same success as his Madeline series.

In the 1950s, he turned his attention towards oil painting and bought a small bistro, La Colombe, in the Île de la Cité to serve as his studio. Up until this point, he had been working in pen and ink, gouache and watercolor, mediums that facilitated the speed at which he enjoyed working. With his studio though, he began creating murals, and though the space sadly had to be sold only two years later, he continued his work at New York City's Carlyle Hotel. The Bemelmans Bar, decorated by the artist in 1947 in exchange for his family’s 18-month stay at the hotel, is the only public example of the artist’s work still on display today. While he also painted the children’s room on Aristotle Onassis’s yacht, the Christina, the Bemelmans Bar, with its depictions of Madeline and her friends meandering through Central Park, remains a favorite spot for tourists and celebrities as well as a true New York institution.