Born in Paris, painter and draughtsman Lucien Ott began his career as a furniture designer with Maison Krieger. Though he had been formally trained in drawing, Ott was a self-taught fine artist. He later went on to train in the art of engraving with renowned Parisian printmaker Loys Delteil, and developed a relationship with printmaker and illustrator Henri Rivère, who greatly influenced his work.

Ott traveled to Brittany frequently during his early career, following his major influence Paul Gaugin and the Pont-Aven school’s activity in the area. On his return to Paris, Ott exhibited some of his landscapes of Brittany at the Salon des Indépendants of 1901, where he would continue to exhibit regularly until 1914. Ott’s favorite subjects were scenes of Paris, the banks of the Seine, views of the Ile de France and Brittany.

While serving in the French army during World War I, Ott made several drawings of his fellow soldiers and scenes of military life. Following the war, he dedicated his late career to watercolors, depicting the pastoral landscapes surrounding his home in Villeneuve Saint-Georges. Two years after his death, in 1929, his work was featured in a retrospective at the premier French gallery for modern art Galerie Bernheim-Jeune.