Jack Murray was born August 12, 1889 to J. K. Murray and Clara Lane in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents were both opera singers, his father was associated with the McCaull Opera Company. He grew up in Boston and attended the Massachusetts School of Art. He married Helena Feeny in 1921 and the couple lived in New York. By the 1920s he started to draw and paint for work. He eventually purchased a farm outside of New York, where he created his studio. Throughout his career he illustrated for The Saturday Evening Post, which he did twelve covers for, Boy’s Life, Outdoors, and Better Homes and Gardens. The Saturday Evening Post also awarded him work with the American Museum of Natural History. In 1947 his snow geese was selected for the Federal Duck Stamp Program. Most of his illustrations featured some aspect of the outdoors.