Albert Hemelman was born on January 7, 1883 in the province of Gelderland in Neede in the center-east of Holland, near the German border.

The son of a blacksmith, Albert left at the age of twenty against his parents' wishes for Amsterdam and entered the National School of Applied Arts in 1905; then two years at the Rijksakademie followed. He was a student of the masters Pieter Dupont, Klaas van Leeuwen, George Sturm and Nicolas van der Waav. In the course of his artistic work, Albert regularly traveled to Norway, Iceland and Spitsbergen, but Amsterdam remained his home port throughout his life. His favorite subjects included harbor views, industrial landscapes, urban landscapes and still lifes. Skilled in oils, lithographs and drawings, he produced a good number of posters and book illustrations in addition to his easel paintings.

He was a member of the Academy of Saint-Luc and of Arti and Amicitiae, both in Amsterdam, and was the teacher of Henk Henriët (1903-1945).

Hemelman died in Amsterdam on 25 January 1951.