The novel for which this illustration was made, The Man from the Sea, was written by veteran journalist James Lamb. The war-time story involved a Nazi agent who makes his way to the shoreline of Nova Scotia after a mishap at sea. Robert used water patterns to both reveal and hide the mysterious identity of the half-submerged figure. There is a sense of birth, death and resurrection. This theme is most fully realized in Robert’s later painting Metamorphosis, created for the Seal Upon Thine Heart exhibition. This is an instance of how Robert’s fine art activities and his commercial work crossed paths and influenced one another.