Born in Baltimore and educated at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Herman Maril was a nationally recognized artist whose prolific career spanned more than 50 years and evolved through several styles. He first visited Cape Cod in 1934, and during his numerous subsequent visits, the sandy setting soon became a major source of inspiration for his modernist seascapes. Although best known for his landscapes, Maril also produced still lifes and figure paintings throughout his career. His compositions reduce the natural world to its essence by simplifying forms to planes of color in an attempt to convey emotion without the clutter of detail. Duncan Phillips, founder of The Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., was one of his first supporters in the early 1930s, and Maril considered his encouragement to be the first important step toward his eventual recognition as a painter.