Smoking Skipper

In July 2025, Belgian-American street artist Nils Westergard unveiled Smoking Skipper in the heart of Amsterdam. Painted on Nieuwe Foeliestraat 371, the large-scale mural depicts a friend of the artist as a weathered sailor, casually smoking, with the historic Oudezijds Kolk canal subtly rendered across his jacket, a detail sourced from an old city archive photo. In the lower corner, Westergard’s signature butterfly motif completes the piece.

While the mural’s craftsmanship and local references drew admiration, its appearance sparked controversy. The work was painted without prior approval from Amsterdam’s municipal authorities, raising questions about legality, urban governance, and the role of unpermitted art in the city’s public spaces. This tension between artistic expression and regulation made Smoking Skipper a talking point well beyond the street it occupies, embodying both the beauty and the friction that often accompany bold interventions in the urban landscape.