Percival De Luce, a genre painter and portraitist, was the grandson of artist Thomas Thompson. Samuel Isham described him as "perhaps the first American to work at Antwerp." Following a period of instruction at the academy there, De Luce studied with Joseph Portaels in Brussels and Léon Bonnat in Paris. Returning to New York, he became known for simple, Dutch-inspired scenes of home life. In New York he belonged to the American Watercolor Society, the Artists' Fund Society, and the Salmagundi Club. Between 1872 and 1912, his work was absent from only three Academy annual exhibitions. In later years, De Luce suffered from failing eyesight, which hindered his ability to work. He died at home, leaving a daughter, Olive De Luce, who also painted and studied art history.
