Little is known about the life of Dirk Peter van Lokhorst. We do know that he received his first painting lessons from his father, the then well-known Utrecht animal painter Dirk van Lokhorst. Initially he continued to live and work in Utrecht, but moved to Haarlem in 1882, only to leave for Heidelberg six years later. Dirk Pieter mainly painted landscapes with cattle and sheep. Some of his beach views are also known.