Everhardus Koster began lessons in draughtsmanship under B.J. van Hove at the age of 16 as part of his training to become a marine engineer. Van Hove however thought he had the potential to be a painter and Koster took his advice. He went on to become a skilled painter and watercolourist of seascapes and riverscapes. Contemporaries even called him ‘the Cuyp of our times’. Many of Koster’s works were sold to buyers in Germany and England.