This grand painting shows the influence of Oskar Kokoschka, whose work influenced Philipson throughout his life, with the Expressionistic style suggesting a turbulent sea. The sea was one of the main themes which dominated Philipson’s artistic output in the 1980s. In contrast with the vivid colours Philipson normally chose, this painting sees the reduction of his palette to monochrome. First exhibited at the Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh, Philipson wrote that the painting ‘held the major place in my working year in preparing the Scottish Gallery’s show and at the end it was for me the most satisfying, albeit often a struggle, of the larger works in that group.’