Sculptor Loet Vanderveen was born in Rotterdam, Holland. Vanderveen had the unique privilege of a child to grow up in close proximity to a zoo, and he spent much of his childhood around wild animals. Eventually, Vanderveen had to leave occupied Holland and moved to England to serve in the RAF during the war.

It wasn't until after the war that Vanderveen decided to pursue his creative side; he worked as a fashion designer in Zurich, London, and New York. While in New York, Vanderveen took private ceramic lessons with Fong Chow (director of the Far Eastern Department of the Metropolitan Museum in New York). It was during this time that Vanderveen discovered his love of sculpture. After Vanderveen moved to the Big Sur area of California, he began creating bronze wildlife sculptures.