The pose of the child in this drawing is exactly the same as that used in the 1909 version of The Wreck of the Toy Boat (private collection), also sometimes referred to as The Wave. Orpen did a second version of the picture in 1912 and the titles and references are easily confused. Both involve the artist's daughter, Mary, more commonly known as 'Bunny' on a shoreline, looking down at a toy boat about to be overwhelmed by a large wave which is about to crash on the shore. The setting is Howth with its shoreline onto a stormy Dublin Bay. In the 1912 version, Bunny is shown as a nine to ten year old rather than the six to seven year old she is here.
At first the snail of one of the alternative titles appears to be conspicuous by its absence, and one begins to wonder whether the girl has trodden on it! If however, one continues the snail hunt with very close inspection then what appears to be a possible snail can be seen by Bunny's foot, which is pointing towards it. She also appears to be looking down at the same spot. However, it could easily be taken for jetsam or seaweed.
O.R.P.