Willem Jacobus de Haan was a Dutch painter, draftsman and sculptor. He was autodidact and painted nonrepresentational art. He was a member of the artist association Federatie van Verenigingen van Beroeps Beeldende Kunstenaars and Liga Nieuw Beelden. In 1953, he decided to focus on painting fulltime. In his beginning years, his paintings were pre-war Surrealist, but his work soon developed into abstract-Expressionism. In the 1960s he was a member of the groups Europa and Oekwa, with who he exhibited. In 1975, a retrospective exhibition on de Haan was held at the Stedelijk Museum.
