Simon de Heer's painting talent revealed itself early on. He received his first drawing lessons from a house and carriage painter, after which he attended the city drawing school in Purmerend at the age of 14. In the same year, a pencil drawing at an exhibition in The Hague attracted the special attention of Queen Wilhelmina, who opened the exhibition. In 1908 De Heer went to the academy in Amsterdam. He became a valued portrait painter and immortalized, among others, Jac. P. Thijsse and Max Euwe. In addition, Simon de Heer liked to paint in nature and later he often chose religious subjects.