The 1930s are considered a seminal period in the development of Piper's art. In January 1934, he was elected to the Seven and Five Society which, under the influence of Ben Nicholson, had become the focus of British modernism. Whilst Piper shared many of the values of abstraction promoted by the group, his art also reveals the influence of European painters, notably Georges Braque, whose work was especially pivotal in informing Piper's use of collage. Throughout the decade, Piper oscillated between pure abstraction and representation, balancing the pull of the non-figurative with his own inimitable interpretation of the English landscape and whilst he would ultimately turn away from abstraction, his contribution to the cause of English modernism cannot be under-emphasised.

Since childhood, the sea had been a constant draw for Piper. Whilst based at Betchworth in Surrey in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he had easy access to the south coast frequently painting at Rye, Newhaven and Bognor. His love of the landscape also drew him further afield to Cornwall, Wales and Dorset in search of remote beaches and rugged coast lines, often populated with fishermen's boats, beach huts and lighthouses.

In these landscapes, we see Piper experimenting with different media, working spontaneously with everyday objects that he had to hand. He was frequently drawn to the use of silver foil, which created the reflective properties required of moonlight or waves and provided a contrast to the opaqueness of the paint. Newspaper, cut-outs of old engravings and marbled paper along with paper doilies were among other materials with which Piper frequently embellished his paintings of the period.