Pierre H. Matisse was born in Paris, France in 1928 into a family of artists. His father was a sculptor and his mother was a painter and ceramist. Being raised as the grandson of the renowned Henri Matisse, Pierre was surrounded by the art scene of France since childhood. Growing up, Pierre was introduced to some of the most famous artists of the century: Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Fernand Leger, and of course, his own grandfather, Henri Matisse. Young Pierre helped his grandfather in the studio and studied his paintings alongside his mother. During WWII, Pierre attended L’Academie de la Grande Chaumiere as well as Les Courd d’Art du Soir de la Ville de Paris. After the war, Pierre moved to America and became known as the artist of freedom and love. The majority of his works are paintings created using a palatte knife in a heavy impasto technique, but he has explored many different mediums such as pastels, linocuts, and cutouts as well.