A figure study showing on the right back views of a man and a woman seated on a large fish trunk. In the centre, a man is seated on a basket, turning to the left. On the left, back views of a man and a woman facing a small boy in the centre of the group are depicted, while two women at the back and on the left are shown facing out to the left. Two men at the back complete the group.

As indicated by an inscription on the back of the mount, this drawing was attributed to Willem van de Velde, the Elder, in the early 18th century: 'Wm. Vanderveld Sen. No. 109'. It is one of eleven drawings, mostly showing fishing people, from the Milford Collection, which was formed about 1730. The study was presumably made about 1655 when van de Velde was particularly busy with grisailles, in which he introduced groups of fishing people in the foreground. The unsigned drawing may show the influence of Simon de Vlieger’s work, whom van de Velde was on friendly terms with at the time.