For many years Oakland's waterfront along the estuary was cluttered with dockside shacks and sheds where, among the pilings and piers, artists often found appealing subjects for their paintings. Canadian born William Clapp, one of the members of a group of Oakland artists who during the 1920s painted out of doors together calling themselves the Society of Six, executed this colorful estuary scene in his Impressionist inspired style. Clapp was also curator of Oakland Art Gallery (now the Oakland Museum of California) from 1916 to 1949.