Henri (Hendrik) De Smeth was born in the Belgian city of Borgerhout in 1865. At the age 14 he became a pupil of the artist August de Lathouwer and later of Lodewijk Hendrix.

De Smeth was a painter of people, landscapes, women, genre scenes, peasant people, children and interiors in the Realist, Impressionist and Romantic styles.

He was a member of the art group Als ik kan, of which Emile Claus, Edgard Farasyn, Frans Hens and Theodore Verstraete were also members. De Smeth was good friends with Romain Looymans and Frans Van Ballaer.

The painting style of interiors of Henri De Smeth is akin to that of Henri De Braekeleer and Alfred Elsen.

Accompanied by Henry Luyten and Romain Looymans, he discovered Zeeland (Netherlands) as a painting location.

The influence of Franz Courtens is evident in this works.

In 1907, at the peak of his career the forty-two year old De Smeth was affected by blindness.

Henri De Smeth died in Brasschaat on 17 November 1940 - His work is in Museums at Brussels, Antwerpen, and Tournai (Doornik).