Between 1902 and 1914 Orpen had a part time teaching post at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. From about 1907, he made twice yearly visits to Ireland to teach and in August he would rent a house at Howth Head for a family summer holiday. These idyllic months resulted in a series of magnificent portraits conceived and drawn out of doors on Howth's surrounding cliffs and beaches. From about 1909 to 1913 Orpen's wife, Grace and eldest daughters, Mary and Kit, sat for the artist resulting in oils such as 'A Summer Afternoon', a full-length portrait of Grace at Howth and 'By the Sea Shore' showing Grace and Kit lying on the beach under a parasol.

'In Dublin Bay' depicts Grace standing on the windswept cliffs of Howth, which looked south over Dublin Bay

(See B. Arnold, Orpen, Mirror to an Age, London , 1981, p.268)