Joined Carmel Art Association in 1953. John La Pierre served in the U.S. Navy for three years before commencing his college education. He attended the California College of Arts and Crafts (B.A.), Stanford University (M.A.), and the Instituto Allende, Mexico (M.F.A.). His teaching career began at Avenal High School, and in 1952 having moved to the Monterey Peninsula, he became the art instructor at Pacific Grove High School. He lived in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, in 1957 and 1958, where he was a crafts director for the U.S. Army.La Pierre painted in oil, acrylics and watercolor, and also worked in collage.