He lived from 1934 and 1938 as a freelance painter in Düsseldorf and did study trips to Paris, Colmar, Strasbourg, Amsterdam and Zurich.
Heinrich Steiner left Germany in 1938 and went to Florence, where he joined the circle of German artists in Italy.
In 1950, he married Giuliana Toti in Florence and returned to Germany, where he worked as a painter and art teacher.
Steiner was a member of the secession art movement Palatinate, like Hans Purrmann, Edvard Frank and Will Sohl.
In 1974, Steiner moved back to Italy and lived and worked in Rome and Lerici.