W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp (1874-1950) 'Four outrigger proa’s on the beach of Kusambe'

'A Buginese boat, Semarang 1898’ Signed, dated, and annotated, upper right Pen, brush and ink on cardboard, H. 11.4 x W. 26.3 cm Literature: Venselaar, 2019, p. 69 (ill.)

'Meru in Kesiman, Bali 1906’ Signed lower centre and annotated lower left Pen, brush and ink on cardboard, H. 24.4 x W. 17.1 cm The stately grandeur of the architecture of South Ba...

Four outrigger proa’s on the beach of Kusambe, Bali, 1937 Signed with initials, dated and described with location bottom left Pencil and ink on paper, 29.7 x 35 cm In ebonized frame with white mount WILLEM OTTO WIJNAND NIEUWENKAMP (1874-1950) Nieuwenkamp was born on July 27th 1874 in Amsterdam. His father owned sailing ships sailing to Indonesia and hearing the stories of the returning captains evoked in the young Nieuwenkamp an obsession for distant lands and adventure. After a failed attempt by his father to have his son make a career in his business, Nieuwenkamp attended the Academy for Decorative Art in Amsterdam. However, he left within one year to go his own way. He was an autodidact and a great experimenter with new techniques, particularly in the art of etching. Nieuwenkamp was a very focused man with the discipline of a scientist tempered by the sensitivity of an artist, a lust for adventure, a natural appreciation for ethnic arts and an enormous ambition to tread new paths. In 1898 he visited Indonesia for the first time and on his second visit in 1903-1904 he went on to Bali and became the first foreign artist to love Bali and the Balinese with a passion. Having secured agreements with several museums in the Netherlands to obtain Balinese art and objects for their collections, Nieuwenkamp immediately started to purchase and order a wide range of ethnographic art and objects from local artists and craftsmen. Through his drawings and books, he gave an excellent impression of Balinese art and culture at that time. Since 1854 Northern Bali was under Dutch...

Edward William Cooke was born in Pentonville. His father, George Cooke, and uncle William Bernard Cooke were also well-known line engravers. Growing up in an environment of artists,...