Henry Cleenewerck (1818-1901) was born in Watou, Belgium and emigrated to the United States, where he was working in Savannah, Georgia by 1860. Around 1865 he traveled to Cuba, where he was acclaimed for his views of the Canimar River, San Antonio de los Banos, and exotic jungle paintings. Cleenewerck left Cuba in 1868 at the start of the War for Independence and returned to America, where he became a naturalized citizen. He traveled extensively in the United States before returning to Europe. In 1878, claimimng his place of residence as Poperinge, Belgium, he exhibited at the Brussels Salon. The following year he returned to San Francisco where he lived for three years at the Chamberlain House on the corner of Stockton and Bush Streets. In 1882 Cleenewerck exhibited at the National Academy of Design and spent the summer sketching in Colorado. From 1880 to 1900 he traveled regularly from America to Europe, participating in Salon exhibitions in Brussels and Paris. Cleenewerck died in Brussles in 1901. The town of Poperinge held a retrospective of his work in 1995.

Biography courtesy of Roger King Gallery of Fine Art, www.antiquesandfineart.com/rking