Francis Bernard Shields, painter, printmaker, and illustrator, was born in New York City in 1908. He studied at Columbia University, the National Academy of Design, and the Art Students League with Ivan Olinsky, Charles Webster Hawthorne, and Kimon Nicholaides.

Shields worked on the WPA Art Federal Art Project, New York City between 1935 and 1943 and created both black and white and color lithographs. He also was an illustrator and created illustrations for A Collection of Animal Story Masterpieces in 1939 and Parade of Fairy Tales: Famous Tales Selected from the Folk Lore of the World in 1945. He also contributed to Natural History and Boy’s Life magazines.

Francis B. Shields died in Saint Augustine, Florida in 1990.