Edwin Ziegfeld (1905-1987) was an artist and art educator in Minnesota, New York, and Washington, D.C. He attended Ohio State University for his bachelor's degree and Harvard University for his master's. After completing his education, Ziegfeld was an instructor of landscape architecture at Ohio State and soon after began working for the Owatonna Art Project. He served as the program's resident director from 1934 to 1939 and published the book Art For Daily Living, co-authored by Mary Elinore Smith, about the project in 1944. Toward the end of this project, Ziegfeld taught art education at the University of Minnesota. In 1943, Ziegfeld began working for the Bureau of Navy Personnel in its education services department. From 1944 to 1946, he served as the officer-in-charge for the educational program of the U.S. Navy; and completed his doctorate in educational psychology with a minor in architecture in 1946. After the war, Ziegfeld took a position as an art professor in the Department of Fine and Industrial Arts at Teachers College, Columbia University. He ultimately became chairman of the department and served as editor of Art Education Today, the department's annual publication. He remained at Columbia until his retirement in 1970.
Ziegfeld was a founding president of the National Art Education Association and International Society for Education Through Art; and a member of the Eastern Arts Association and Museum of Modern Art committee on art education. In addition to numerous published articles, Ziegfeld edited five editions of Art Today from 1941 to 1963, and wrote "Art and Education: A Symposium," published by UNESCO in 1953. Though most well-known for his work in art education, Ziegfeld's watercolors were exhibited a number of times throughout his career, most notable in group shows at the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts and Baltimore Museum of Art.