Piet Bekaert pursued many different art forms in his lifetime, including sculpture, writing, photography, architecture and painting. His well-known landscapes and interior scenes are illuminated with a light that is reminiscent of J.M.W. Turner, the 19th-century English landscape painter. The hallmark of his work, a misty glow permeating both interior and exterior scenes, was reminiscent of the French Impressionists, and gained him a worldwide reputation. His study of architecture, evident in the way he rendered conservatories, colonnades, urns and 19th-century houses, and his many color photographs, have been both published and shown in leading galleries worldwide.

A native of Belgium, Bekaert studied at the Académie Julian, Paris, and Pratt Institute, New York. While studying at Pratt, he wrote his first novel Amaryllis (1971), and after he graduated released a collection of 100 poems entitled Gothic Blue (1975). In 1980, a second novel, Snow Blossom, was published. His work continues to hold an established place in the contemporary art world.