Willem Laurens Bouwmeester - cows painted in a stable in the village of Oudendijk NH - Sold

Bouwmeester was born in 1874 as the son of the head of the school Johannes Cornelis Bouwmeester and Swaantje Mantel. He studied at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Amsterdam. He obtained his doctorate there in 1903 with a dissertation on the Bethlehem monastery near Doetinchem. In 1902 he was appointed teacher of geography and history at the grammar school in Doetinchem. From 1921 he was also vice-principal of this school. He published regularly on historical matters. He worked as a columnist for the Graafschapbode, for which he wrote weekly articles in the dialect of the Achterhoek. Bouwmeester was also co-founder of the Archaeological Association De Graafschap. In 1911 he wrote The Development of Dutch Landscapes, a historical-geographical handbook, which means that he, alongside Roelof Schuiling and Hendrik Blink, can be seen as a pioneer in the historical geography of the Dutch sandy areas. In addition to his professional activities, Bouwmeester was a painter. He mainly painted and drew landscapes. He was inspired in his work by railways and trains in the landscape. Commissioned by the Dutch Railways, he produced a painting for the head office in Utrecht. 15 of his paintings and 13 drawings are in the collection of the Dutch Railway Museum in Utrecht. Bouwmeester married the mayor's daughter Trijntje Stam from Oudendijk on July 14, 1908. He died in 1939, the year of his retirement, in his hometown of Doetinchem at the age of 65.