Born in 1895, van Velde was raised in Holland.  His real name is Abraham van Velde.  His artistic skills were recognized by his employer,  Eduard H. Kramers, a collector who funded van Velde's study in Munich at the artistic colony in Worpwede, North Germany, in 1922.  

Van Velde moved to Paris in 1924, then to Corsica in 1929, and on to Majorca in 1932 in search of a less expensive life .  Four years later he returned to Paris, forced out of the Spanish territory by the Civil War.

Van Velde's travels are reflected in his works and in 1946, 10 years after returning to Paris, Bram van Velde had his first one-man exhibition at the Galerie Mai in Paris.

He died in 1981.