Henri Cleenewerck was born in Watou, Belgium and attended the academies in Poperinge and Iepe. He came to the United States and was working in Savannah, Georgia in 1860. Around 1865 he traveled to Cuba, painting views of the Canimar River, San Antonio de los Banos and exotic jungle paintings. His work was highly acclaimed and he became a celebrated artist in Cuba, but he left there at the start of the War for Independence in 1868.

Cleenewerck returned to the United States, becoming a naturalized citizen and traveling extensively across the country. He visited Colorado and San Francisco, making a number of sketches, and there is evidence to suggest that he may have painted around the San Francisco Bay region a...