George Bireline was born in Peoria, IL in 1923. After serving in WWII, Bireline pursued his art studies at Bradley University and eventually received an MFA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1963. Bireline appeared on the national art scene the following year with a solo exhibition in New York City at the prestigious Andre Emmerich Gallery. Over the years the artist painted in a variety of styles including abstract impressionism and color-field painting. He also taught throughout his career at the School of Design at North Carolina State University from 1955 until his retirement in 1986.

George Bireline received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1967 and was honored with a retrospective in 1976 at the North Carolina Museum of Art. His artwork can be found in the permanent collections of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC, the Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, and The Ackland Museum of Art, Chapel Hill, NC.