As part of the group that became known as the Scottish Colourists, George Leslie Hunter was a critical figure in adopting European modernism in the early 20th century and influencing future generations of Scottish artists. Alongside his contemporaries Samuel John Peploe, Francis Campbell Bolieau Cadell and John Duncan Fergusson, together these artists embraced bold colour, lively surfaces and dynamic movement, learned directly from their experiences amongst avant-garde artistic circles in France.

The present work was painted in Étaples, Normandy circa 1914. It belongs to a series of swift plein sketches Hunter made of groups of figures at leisure on the beach. Bold and spontaneous, they vibrantly capture the moment; several Hunter would then work to finished oils back in the studio.