Hendrik-Dirk Kruseman Van Elten was born in Paris in 1829 and came to the United States in 1865. His achievements as an artist in America are noted by the exhibition of his works at the National Academy of Design from 1866-1900. In 1905, one year after his death in Alkmaar, Holland, two hundred of his paintings were auctioned at the American Art Guild in New York to benefit the Artists' Aid Society.