Born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands he was baptized on January 27, 1585.
He was deaf and dumb and known as de Stomme van Kampen (the mute of Kampen). For his artistic training, Hendrick was sent to Amsterdam to study with the Danish portrait painter Pieter Isaacks (1569-1625).
As one of the first landscape painters of the 17th-century Dutch school, he specialized in painting The Netherlands in winter. Avercamp paintings are colorful and lively, with carefully crafted images of the people in the lanscape.
Avercamp's work enjoyed great popularity and he sold his drawings, many of which were tinted with water-color, as finished pictures to be pasted into the albums of collectors. Queen Elizabeth II has an outstanding collection of his works at Windsor Castle, England.
Hendrick Avercamp died in Kampen, The Netherlands and was interred in the Sint Nicolaaskerk in Kampen.