Willem Hendrik Eickelberg never became a widely-known painter. He was born in Amsterdam in 1845 and trained at the Koninklijke Academie. Featuring an early impressionistic style, his paintings featured landscapes, cityscapes and beach scenes. Although his winter landscapes sometimes have a strong romantic tendency in terms of composition and atmosphere, he also painted cityscapes and beach scenes with ships that provide a more accurate account of his day. The painter lived and worked in Amsterdam until 1878. Eventually, after a bit of roaming, he settled in Blaricum (1904) and later in Hilversum.