Australian born Richard Hayley Lever trained in both France and England, where he joined the St. Ives Group and began painting seascapes, a genre with which he achieved widespread recognition. Working in the plein air tradition he became particularly interested in the effect of sunlight on the sea, quickly developing a distinctive style, bold in both handling and palette.
in 1912 Lever moved to New York, where he continued to develop his Post-Impressionist style that would strongly appeal to his American clientele.