William Dommersen was one of a family of artists. His father was the painter Pieter Cornelis Dommersen who had moved from The Netherlands to London. He painted genre scenes, landscapes, marine scenes, and village and town scenes of quality. His best known works are the European villages and towns along rivers and canals. He painted mostly in the Netherlands and England but also visited Belgium, France and Italy, together with his father and his uncle the artist Cornelis Christiaan Dommersen.
This view of a ‘Costal Scene’ is typical of the Dommersens’ technique of applying a bright luminous pallet to their subjects. In this sunny view, beneath a clear blue sky, a beached fishing boat and figures can be seen in the left foreground. Beyond them, on a promontory along the coast, is a wooden house by the waters’ edge with a moored fishing boat nearby. These motifs are clearly reflected in the still waters of the bay. In the distance is a village with its predominant church and spire. This idealised view is probably derived from a location on the Dutch coast.
The family were also known by their Dutch name Dommershuijzen.