Hendrik Valk was born in Zoeterwoude in 1897. He grew up in an artistic environment. His father was a designer of silver and gold cutlery for the Van Kempen company. In 1916, Valk obtained his diploma as a teacher of hand and linear drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. From an early age, he experimented with stylization and abstraction, and around 1918, Theo van Doesburg invited him to join the artist group De Stijl. However, Valk chose to follow his own path. He developed a unique style in which he adhered to visual reality, which he reduced to its essence in simple, straight lines. The sharp, black-outlined contours are characteristic. Valk was a versatile artist: watercolorist, goldsmith, illustrator, draftsman, and theater designer. He was also a highly respected lecturer at the ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in Arnhem from 1926 to 1956.