Leendert van der Vlist was born in Numansdorp in 1894, he died in Voorburg in 1962. He lived and worked in Leiden but he also travelled widely abroad. He was apprenticed to W. van der Nat and later on he was a pupil of Willem de Zwart. He won various awards and in 1943 he was the gold medal winner of the art society Arti et Amicitae in Amsterdam. He painted landscapes, cityscapes and townscapes, among others Florence and Venice. He belongs to the Leidse school. His work is included in Museum de Lakenhal in Leiden, among others.