A special painting by an artist whom is known for works that present idyllic settings and floral framework, this active smaller scene is of women and little girls at a coastal resort. It is refreshing to see the overall group as a whole presented as suggestive impressionist subjects, rather than one or two singled out. Dressed in fine public fashion, parasols, hats and lace up boots of either white or pastels, the white-glass bowls of the gas lamps put this in the early years of the 20th Century.

Bowdoin uses illusion to create shade and depth, with the color of the well-worn walkway echoing the green of the grass on the fence’s other side. Even as impressionistically suggestive her figures are, it is easy to see where each is paying their attention, even the pair in conversation on the bench at the rail. Children hold floating balloons, and the flow of oil with a bit of impasto directly from the artist’s brushes give the feeling of a faint soft breeze coming off the water to make it an enjoyable day.