Irving Stone was an American writer, chiefly known for his biographical novels of noted artists, politicians, and intellectuals. Among the best known are Lust for Life (1934), about the life of Vincent van Gogh, and The Agony and the Ecstasy (1961), about Michelangelo.

In 1923, Stone received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. In the 1960s, he received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Southern California, where he had previously earned a Master's Degree from the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. When at home, Stone relied upon the research facilities and expertise made available to him by Esther Euler, head research librarian of the University of California at Los Angeles, to whom he dedicated and thanked, in addition to many others, in several of his works.

Stone enjoyed a long marriage with his wife and editor on many of his works, Jean Stone. The Stones lived primarily in Los Angeles, California.