Charles Demuth’s painting is both a still life and memorial portrait commemorating Bert Savoy, a vaudeville entertainer famous for campy performances as a female impersonator. Savoy was struck by lightning on a Long Island beach in 1923. The shell and dark waves allude to the site of his death, and the calla lilies are associated with funerals. Many modern artists used flflowers to signify themes of sexuality and gender expression. Thus, the painting reflflects Savoy and Demuth’s kinship as men in New York queer circles during the early twentieth century.