Merle Armitage was born in 1893 on a farm outside Mason City, Iowa. He had many jobs over the years, but began his career as an engineer on the Kansas City, Mexico, and Orient Railroad (later the Santa Fe Railroad, and now the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway). He later took a job as a graphic designer for the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit.

His next career was as a set designer for New York theaters, which later turned into a long stint in the theater promotion business. Armitage also managed various performers and their concert tours. In 1924, he co-founded the Los Angeles Grand Opera Association and was its business manager for eight seasons. He then managed the Los Angeles Philharmonic auditorium, from 1933 to 1939, where he oversaw production of various plays and operas.

In addition to his theater work, Armitage was involved with writing and designing books, as well as serving as the art director for various magazines (including 'Quick' and 'Look'). Over one hundred books are attributed to him. He had a short career in the Army Air Forces, working in the Material Center, and was a regional chairman for the Public Works of Art project during the Depression. In 1951, he was the president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

Merle Armitage married four times and eventually retired to Yucca Valley, California, to a ranch he called Manzanita Ranch. He died March 15, 1975.