Later, from 1890 to 1894, he was able to perfect his techniques in Berlin, at the Prussian Academy of Arts, where he studied with Hans Gude, who had been Schirm's teacher. During that time, he opened his own studio near the Tiergarten. In 1895 he moved to the Tauentzienstraße, where he operated a painting school "for men and women". After 1904, he lived and worked in Wilmersdorf.
He travelled extensively; to Sweden, France, England and Italy. He initially favored Nordic coastal landscapes, but later came to prefer the brighter scenery of Italy. His major exhibitions included those at the Glaspalast (1888), the Große Berliner Kunstausstellung (from 1889), where he was awarded a small gold medal in 1896, and with the Berlin Secession (1898).
References
^Bettina Baumgärtel, Sabine Schroyen, Lydia Immerheiser, Sabine Teichgröb: "Verzeichnis der ausländischen Künstler und Künstlerinnen. Nationalität, Aufenthalt und Studium in Düsseldorf", In: Bettina Baumgärtel (Ed.): Die Düsseldorfer Malerschule und ihre internationale Ausstrahlung 1819–1918, Vol.1, pg.431, Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2011, ISBN978-3-86568-702-9
Further reading
"Hamacher, Willy", In: Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, Vol. 15: Gresse–Hanselmann, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1922 (Online)
Helmut Börsch-Supan, Hans Paffrath (Eds.): Lexikon der Düsseldorfer Malerschule, Vol.2: Haach–Murtfeldt. Bruckmann, Munich 1998, ISBN3-7654-3010-2