This Biography was submitted by Chet Hill, a previous student and a personal friend. He used records from the San Gabriel Fine Art Club.

Don Miles was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on May 21, 1912. In 1918, his family moved to Long Beach California. His schooling was in Long Beach including his first year of college majoring in engineering. It is said that he started painting in 1932 and drawing was his main interest. He dropped out of college and went to a trade school in Los Angeles. In 1933, his first job was in architectural design and lasted six years.

Don's strong interest in painting led him to study landscape painting under Henry Richter and Sam Hyde Harris. He did a lot of plein-air painting in the desert and at the Harb...