Willem Koekkoek was born in 1839 in Amsterdam as the second son of the marine artist Hermanus Koekkoek Sen(1815-1882). Having adopted the family tradition of painting, Willem became best known for his winter street scenes. His favorite subject was his native Holland and his style remained distinctively Dutch, yet his handling of color became particularly individual as seen in the ominous sky, showing that he was skillful in his manipulation of light and shadow.

Koekkoek held his first exhibition in Leeuwarden in 1859 at the age of twenty. From that time on he frequently showed his work at various exhibitions in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. In the 1880's - at the top of his career - he also submitte...