Senat was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1852, and studied at École des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he studied with Jean Léon Gérôme, and the South Kensington School in London. He exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1877 – 1887) and the National Academy of Design. When he returned to America, he exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. He spent several years in Europe as well as at Cape Arundel, Kennebunkport, painting the coast of Maine, the likely location of this painting. He exhibited internationally, including at the Brussels Exposition of 1880, the Naples National Exposition of 1889 and the Vienna National Exhibition of 1893.