The following biography is based on information give to AskART.com by Daniel Lockhart, who is writing a book on the artist:

Born in 1866 in the Russian occupied country of Latvia in the province of Riga, Andre Lapine became a Canadian painter, renowned for his depictions of horses, and also portraits and landscapes. He first studied under Russian painter Stanslav Rozes, went to London with Rozes, and then moved to Paris with artist Jose Weiss and attempted to eek out a living by painting portraits, but failed to do so.

Weiss left for America, and Lapine set out across Europe on his own, making his way to Amsterdam, mainly on foot, and painting various portraits along the way to help sustain him. Upon reaching Amsterdam, he joined the Art Academy of Amsterdam. He met and married his wife Gertrudia (a nurse) there.

In 1906, Lapine and his wife moved to present day Manitoba, Canada to try a hand at farming. Their attempt failed, and they moved to Toronto, Ontario to try and make a living there. Lapine again joined the art world as a commercial artist, and working in both oils and watercolors, he painted several portraits and landscapes.

He became famous for his renditions of horses, allegedly one of the best in the world and was successful enough to build a house and a studio on the Humber River. His paintings graced the Canadian Exhibition on several occasions, as well as the International Watercolour Shows in Chicago in the the 1920s. He was also a Royal Canadian Artist, and a founding member of the Canadian Watercolour Society.

In the mid 1930s, Lapine was hit by a car, which almost killed him. He was able to pull through after several operations, and did not return to the painting world until about 1941. More likely than not, he was taking care of his sick wife. They had both moved temporary to a farm near Minden, Ontario, north of Toronto.

After her death, Lapine traveled extensively, painting the Haliburton Highlands of Ontario, the Algoma region, parts of southern Quebec and areas around Toronto. In his later years, Lapine retired to the old logging town of Minden and painted many oil landscapes of the area. He used many of the those paintings to pay for room and board at the home of Mr. Frank Welch, the local mortician. Lapine died in 1952 after suffering a stroke, and is presently buried with his wife in the town cemetery.