Piet van der Hem is famous for his portraits, hunting scenes and political prints. A royal grant provided him with the opportunity to work in Paris for a year in 1907. During this year, he became familiar with the work of artists like Steinlen and Toulouse-Lautrec.
Between 1909 and 1914, Van der Hem was one of the representatives of Dutch Luminism. Van der Hem was never seen as a modernist because his use of colours was too realistic.
His early paintings depicted themes such as Parisian night life, but later on his interest shifted to a more powerful style of painting which lent some of his pieces a more sober quality. In 1918, Van der Hem settled permanently in The Hague, where he worked on commission, producing mainly portraits.