WILLIAM JAMES COHEN STUART (1857-1935)

“Het Hollandsche Oefenescader liggende te Simonsbaai, 1876/77”, with the names of the ships, Zilveren Kruis, Curaçao, Leeuwarden and Van Galen.

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Signed lower right

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Watercolour on paper, 25 x 41 cm

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Note:

William James Cohen Stuart was a Dutch marine officer, commander of several ships and fought in the long drawn out Atjeh war (1873-1914). The Atjeh Sultanate in the north of Sumatra commanded the Strait of Malacca and made the shipping through the Strait unsafe by piracy. Cohen Stuart became Minister of the Marine from 1905 to 1907 but stepped down because his plans to strengthen the Dutch Navy were rejected by parliament.