Earl Kerkam abandoned a well-paid career as a commercial artist to study painting. He studied at the Rand School, the Art Student's League, and the School of Design, before moving to France to continue his studies. In Paris, he attended the Academies de la Grand Chaumiere and the Academy Colorossi from 1924 to 1929. He was in charge of the American Art Gallery in Paris for a brief period. He exhibited some of his paintings along with Andre Derrain, a member of Henri Matisse's circle, Les Fauves.

After the Great Depression began, he returned to America. In the early 1930s he was the art editor for "Progress" magazine. From 1933 to 1943 he was employed with the Easel Project of the Works Progress Administration, where he worked with W...