Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Henry G. Keller had an accomplished forty-year career as a teacher at the Cleveland School of Art. His summer workshops in Berlin Heights, Ohio were popular with his students who had included Charles Burchfield, Paul Travis, and Frank Wilcox.

Although he became the first artist in Ohio to achieve distinction as a watercolorist, few remaining examples of his work have been located.

Keller was know for experimentation in techniques of mixed media painting including watercolor, tempera, and goauche.

The influences of decorative Japanese design motifs, Henri Matisse, and Paul Cézanne are apparent in his varied styles. A unique technique he developed to create a sense of volume in his paintings was to outline his forms with intense blue.