Derk Smit, an artist and decorator, was born in the Netherlands and came to the United States in 1914. After World War I service, he settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he studied at the school of the Art Institute of Chicago. Joseph Allworthy was one of his teachers. As with many Chicago artists of the time, Smit painted extensively in Brown County, Indiana, around Nashville. He was a member of the Hoosier Salon and garnered six awards between 1953 and 1968. He also visited Southern California to paint and was a member of the Laguna Beach artists' group. He died in Santa Barbara.

This painting titled by artist on stretcher and is in its original artist-painted frame.