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Born in Delfshaven, Holland in 1877, Kees van Dongen had a reputation for being rather wild in his youth. But at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Art, studying Drawing, printmaking and illustration, he revealed himself to be an extremely diligent and prodigious student.

In 1897 he moved to Paris and developed friendships with Picasso, de Vlaminck and Pisarro. Van Dongen’s part in Fauvism transformed him within a few years into an international celebrity, exhibiting all over Europe, and he became known for his bohemian portraits of glamorous and sophisticated women rendered sensuously and provocatively.

Van Dongen was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1926 and the Order of the Crown of Belgium in 1927. His work is held in major public and private collections worldwide. Van Dongen died in Monte Carlo in 1968.