Gijs van Schaik ('s-Graveland 1905 - Hilversum 1952) was the eldest in a family with five children. From an early age he drew everything that was loose and stuck. There was no money for the Academy, so Gijs was an autodidact and received tips from other Gooise painters such as David Schulman, Anton Smeerdijk, Dirk Smorenberg, Cornelis Scherrewitz and A.J. Zwart.

Gijs van Schaik was originally a house and decorative painter. His cityscapes were much loved by emigrants who took his works with them to Canada, Australia and South America. The Modern art dealership in Gijsbrecht van Amstelstraat in Hilversum also regularly sold his work. The starvation winter of the Second World War drove him from his hometown of 's-Graveland to South Drenthe. He painted small farms, the peat ships in the Hoogeveensche vaart, especially in the village of De Wijk and the surrounding area. He painted mostly 'en plein air'.