During the time of Hoogeveen artist and writer Albert Steenbergen (1814 - 1900), he was a very well-known Drenthe man. Despite his disability, which tied him to aids such as crutches and carts, he set out as a young boy to catch insects. He drew these with extreme precision. His talent was noticed and he moved to Hilversum to develop further as an artist. After several successful years painting flower and fruit still lifes in Haarlem and Amsterdam, he returned to his birthplace Hoogeveen. There, he increasingly abandoned his brushes and picked up his pen. In the following years, he wrote several plays, novellas and poems. It brought him great fame.

In the exhibition The Fantastic Reality of Albert Steenbergen, the Drents Museum brings together his art and literature for the first time.