At a young age, Van der Vlist received instruction from, among others, the teachers Willem van der Nat and Willem de Zwart.He received his training as a painter at the Royal Academy of Visual Arts (The Hague), with the aid of a royal grant. He lived in Leiden for a long time.A number of Dutch landscapes, city and village views by his hand from the Leiden area date from that period.Van der Vlist was a travel-loving artist with a preference for Italy.He traveled to Verona, Venice, Chiogga, Florence, Viarreggio, Siena, and Barga.He also spent some time in Bruges and Karlsruhe.In 1938 he was the winner of the 1st prize of the Willink van Collenfonds and in 1943 he won the gold medal of Arti et Amicitiae.[2] Van der Vlist was a member of the associations De Haagsche Kunstkring, Vereeniging Sint Lucas (Amsterdam) and Maatschappij Arti et Amicitiae (Amsterdam).
