Archibald Cary Smith was born in New York City. He was educated at the University grammar school, and as a young man learned drafting and boat-building skills. In 1863 he studied painting under Maurice F. H. De Haas, a Dutch-born painter who specialized in maritime scenes. During the 1860s Smith exhibited at the National Academy of Design and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Smith painted and designed yachts concurrently. His yacht designs were met with great acclaim. He was responsible for designing the first iron yacht that was built in Chester, Pennsylvania, and it attracted much attention as an interesting and successful departure from the usual type. Eventually, Smith devoted himself almost entirely to designing and altering yachts of all kinds, including the yacht Mischief, which successfully defended the America’s Cup in 1881. In 1887 Smith delivered a course of lectures on naval architecture for the Seawanhaka yacht club in New York.

Nevertheless, during the duration of his artistic career, he also produced many beautiful examples of marine painting such as Cove Scene at Dusk, which demonstrates Smith’s close relationship with Luminism. In this work, the artist combines a careful attention to detail with a more atmospheric approach and a sensitivity to light effects. The resultant picture has a quiet poetry that is sometimes lacking in the more traditional examples of maritime art.