Montague Dawson is perhaps one of the best-known marine painters of the early 20th century. His paintings are indicative of his youth on Southampton Water on England's south coast, and his lineage from a family of maritime painters - both his father and grandfather.

Dawson's time in the Royal Navy at the outbreak of the First World War deeply affected his work, which focused on sailing ships and historical vessels, typically under full sail on turbulent ocean crests and currents.

Dawson reached the height of his artistic success in the 1920s, exhibiting at the Royal Academy from 1916 to 1936 and at the Royal Society of Marine Artists.