Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Frank Benson was a painter of impressionist seascapes and landscapes, often with figures posed by his wife and children. He also painted numerous hunting scenes and was a life-long hunter. It was said that he knew birds as only a sportsman can. He spent most of his life in the seaport town of Salem and loved trekking through the countryside for his subject matter, especially wildlife. He also did an occasional still life with Oriental themes. In 1900, Benson discovered the pleasures of North Haven Island off the coast of Maine, and from that time, he and his family spent every summer there.