Peter Purves Smith created a small and significant body of work before succumbing in 1948 to tuberculosis, which he contracted while serving with the English Army in World War Two. He painted Figures on a beach shortly before he was re-hospitalised with the disease that would take his life at the age of just 37.

The painting reflects Purves Smith’s interest in Surrealism, which he had encountered while travelling and studying abroad, including at the Grosvenor School of Modern Art, in London in 1935. Despite being a beach scene, the artwork is reminiscent of the stark and disturbing landscapes of English surrealist and war artist Paul Nash.

Purves Smith’s painting includes recognisable elements, such as the sand dunes that infer an Australian setting, together with more abstract and perplexing forms. The painting speaks to the work of European artists such as Salvador Dalí, Yves Tanguy and Joan Miró, as well as the directive that Purves Smith’s Australian teacher George Bell gave his students — to paint what was felt, rather than what was experienced.