According to the RKD he was a still life painter whose birthplace is unknown. He is known for a few fruitstill lifes and vanitas pieces during a very short period in Haarlem. He was first registered in Haarlem in 1625, and in 1631 he declared he was 32, and in 1633 his wife is mentioned in a document as a widow. One of his market scenes is adorned with the figure of a young woman reaching in a basket, that was painted by Frans Hals. In the notes on town meetings in the archives of the Haarlem Guild of [St. Luke] under April 4, 1633, the surgeon Jan Snijder and Pieter [Jansz Saenredam] declared to the mayors of Haarlem that all paintings on a list belonged to the estate of Claes van Heussen, in the name of his widow. Van Heussen was listed in the guild, but without noting the year of membership.