Printmaker, painter, and educator Eugene Delatre was born in Paris, France, on December 10, 1864, the son of painter Auguste Delatre. Formal lessons began with Auguste and then with John Lewis Brown, who introduced him to watercolors. He began to work seriously in intaglio printmaking in 1876, but his work was interrupted by compulsary military service and he was unable to pursue the medium again until 1889. This did not deter the the younger Delatre, who would quickly become known for his pioneering work in burin engraving and color printing techniques. Inspired by the works of Japanese color woodcut masters, as well as his work in watercolors, he and fellow printmaker Charles Maurin perfected a painterly color intaglio technique, achieving a delicate, layered look similar to liquid pigment. Delatre soon established himself a sought-after mentor, introducing burin engraving to Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Mary Cassatt, Auguste Brouet, and Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, among others. He would also work with Pablo Picasso, printing the first full edition of 30 impressions of Picasso's "Le Repas Frugal" in 1911. 

He began participating in major exhibitions in 1895, with a show at the Galerie Laffitte alongside Seurat followed by regular shows with the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts, of which he was a member. In 1894 his first works were published in l'Estampe Original. He was a member of the Societe de la gravure en couleurs and the Society of History and Archeology of Vieux-Montmarte. 

His work is held in collections around the world, including at the Museum of Art and History at Saint-Denis; the D'Orsay Museum (FR); The National Library of France; the Library of Congress (US); the National Gallery of Art (US); the Museum of Modern Art (US); the Smithsonian American Art Museum US); the National Gallery of Finland; among others.