Raymond de Meester de Betzenbroeck was born in Mechelen on December 1, 1904 and died in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe on November 30, 1995

The scion of a long line of artists, best known for their drawings, young Raymond soon took an interest in the depiction of animals. After his secondary studies, he meets the renowned animal sculptor Albéric Collin, who supports and encourages him to continue on his chosen path. He often goes to the famous Antwerp Zoo, where he observes the animals, analyses their physique and behaviour, sketches them and then converts these sketches to three dimensions. He initially does this in a studio in Bollandistenstraat  in Etterbeek, and after his marriage in the marital home in Terkamerenstraat  in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe. 

A true perfectionist, he does not limit himself to simple, exact photographical reproduction. He transcends his art form by admirably rendering, as it were, the psychological expression of the animal. Success is not long overdue. He is only twenty-two when he holds his first exhibition in March 1927 at 'La Petite Galerie', in Brussels Avenue Louise.

The reviews are immediately very laudatory. They especially emphasise the young artist's sense of detail. Shortly afterwards, he was co-opted as a member of the 'Cercle des Beaux-Arts' in Liège, a well-deserved recognition of his talent and success. 1930 became a turning year for Raymond de Meester. As a co-opted member of the 'Le Lierre' group, he exhibited in Ixelles, Namur, Leuven, Mechelen and Brussels. Not long after, he receives a commission from the Belgian state for the colonial pavilion at the International Exhibition in Antwerp: a 14-metre-long scene depicting the capture and taming of elephants. Under the sponsorship of Jean Canneel and Alfred Bastien, he joins the 'Cercle Artistique et Littéraire' of Brussels. And still in 1930, he is approached by the officers of the French destroyer ‘Bison’ to realise the silhouette of their totem to adorn the boat. The 1935 ‘Brussels World's Fair’ becomes a dream springboard for our artist. For the leather industry pavilion, he creates a huge, monumental six-metre-long bison. For the Congo pavilion, it becomes an impressive gorilla. Raymond de Meester is henceforth world-famous, even though he is only twenty-six!

Exhibitions follow (Nice, Paris, Liège, Kaunas, Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Stockholm, Utrecht, Milan...) and orders pour in, especially from abroad. Soon one finds works by him in Paris, Lisbon, Oslo, Buenos Aires, Tallinn, Cairo, Mexico, Bern, Warsaw, Kaunas, Reims, Krakow... and of course in Brussels, Liège, Tervuren (Museum of Central Africa). In 1939, he realised his monumental ‘Polar Bear’ for the ‘Water Exhibition’ In Liège. In 1958, his ‘Roaring Lion’, symbolising triumphant Belgium, is placed at one of the official entrances to the ‘Brussels World's Fair’ before being transferred to ‘Malou Park’ the following year. On the eve of his 50th birthday, Raymond de Meester began painting. When fine weather permits, he can be found near the nature park ‘Zwin’ where he commits his impressions to the canvas of the dunes, harbour views and bucolic corners of the Flemish coast. Although he is Laureate of the ‘Rubens Prize’ and a member of the jury of the 'Société royale des Beaux-Arts' and of the 'Conseil européen d'Art et d'Esthétique', he does not neglect local artistic life. From 1937, he participates in the activities of 'Les Artistes de Woluwe-Saint-Lambert' , where Constant Montald and Edgard Tytgat, among others, are also active

After World War II, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen asked him to be part of the jury of the ‘Municipal Painting Competition’ created in 1923. From 1947 to 1960, the year of the last competition, he was a thoughtful and level-headed jury member. Because of his merits, King Baudouin granted him the title of baron in 1952.