Huib van Hove was a student of the Hague Academy, his father B.J. van Hove and H. Van de Sande Bakhuyzen. From 1854 he settled in Antwerp and often worked there with baron Henri Leys. His narrative interiors with figures that went back to Dutch genre art of the 17th century were much loved. He also painted vistas, usually with the effect of incident sunlight, inspired by work by Pieter de Hoogh.