Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1895, artist Nathaniel Dirk studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, Art Students League of New York with Max Weber, and in Paris under Fernand Léger.

Between 1927 and 1957, Dirk exhibited extensively in New York and was featured in thirteen one-man shows. Dirk was a frequent exhibitor at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Audubon Artists and at the Carnegie Institute. Dirk taught and lectured at the Art Students League in New York.
 
Dirk's paintings are held in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and Brooklyn Museum.