Ernest Joseph Laurent, painter and print maker in the Symbolist style, was born in Paris. He studied under Luc-Oliver Merson, Hevert and Lehman and was awarded the Grand Prix de Rome in 1889. He was a close friend of Georges Seurat, Henri-Eugene Le Sidaner and Edouard Aman-Jean and contributed lithographs to L’Estampe Moderne in 1897 and to Gazette Des Beaux-Arts 1901-1911 amongst other art journals. He exhibited at many of the prestigious art shows including at the Salon of the Societe des Artistes Francais in 1901.