Peter Van Valkenburgh was born in Greenbush, Wisconsin on December 4, 1870. As a portrait painter he studied at School of the Art Institute in Chicago, the American Academy of Art, and also privately with F. Smith and J. Vanderpoel.

In 1915, Van Valkenburgh moved to California where he continued his work as a relief artist for the Federal Art Project. From November 1935 to August 1939 he produced thirty-eight lithographic prints of historic and contemporary figures. His prints exhibited figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Boardman Robinson, and Bret Harte.

Van Valkenburgh established a home studio across the bay near San Francisco. He exhibited at Berkeley League of Fine Arts in 1924, California State Fair in 1930, Oakland Public Library, and Academy of Science in the 1930’s.

Peter Van Valkenburgh passed away on August 25, 1955 in Piedmont, California.