He was born in
Amsterdam. He was a member of the famous
Koekkoek painting family; son of the marine artist,
Hermanus Koekkoek, and grandson of
Johannes Hermanus Koekkoek. His brothers,
Hermanus,
Johannes Hermanus Barend, and all became painters. Following in the family tradition, his father gave all four brothers their first art lessons. Willem also received training as an architect, but practiced that profession for only a short time. It did, however, leave a lasting influence on his choice of subject matter. From 1854 to 1878, he worked in
The Hague, then in Amsterdam. His first exhibition was in 1859, in
Leeuwarden. From 1865 to 1894, he held annual showings at the
Royal Academy of Art and the
Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. He had several showings at private galleries in London from 1885 to 1888. Once again, following tradition, Willem provided their first lessons. Sometime in the 1880s, he relocated to Amstelveen. By then, his brother, Hendrik Barend, had moved to London, and his son, Hermanus, eventually did as well. Although Willem painted almost entirely for his English clientele, he remained in the Netherlands. He stopped exhibiting, and painted little, after 1894, due to ill health, and died the following year, shortly after turning fifty-six. '' ==References==