Jan de Graaf was born in 1948, in the Dutch city of Dordrecht. He graduated from the Rotterdam Art Academy in 1976, after which he developed into an artist with a strong personality.

His bronze sculptures frequently depict women and children. He makes consistent use of a stylized construction and design figures. An overall straightness in composition contributes to the stiffness of his objects which are reserved, stilled, frozen and without any suggestion of movement.

Although his work may come across as humorous, the seriousness of his craftmanship becomes clear out of the details in his finishing.