"The catalogue 'Willem van de Velde & Son' will take you to The Northern Netherlands of around 1600, when trade and shipping were flourishing as never before. This activity of ships on the water and in the many ports was a new, inexhaustible source of inspiration for painters who chose the sea as their subject. Among these marine painters were a father and son, both named Willem van de Velde. They worked closely together for fifty years, first from their Amsterdam shop and from 1673 at the court of the English kings Charles II and James II. With their eye for detail and entrepreneurial talent, they became the most prominent marine painters of the seventeenth century. The painting studio has existed for over seventy years. Their productivity in that period was unprecedented, they made an estimated 2,500 drawings and 800 paintings. Their works of art can now be found in the collections of all major museums in the world. The work of the Van de Veldes symbolizes the heyday of Dutch marine painting. Their departure to England in the winter of 1672 also marked the end of a period in which Dutch marine painters, like the war fleet they depicted throughout their lives, ruled in an artistic sense. Step into the fascinating maritime world of Willem van de Velde & Son."--Provided by the publisher.