This is an early work by Leonardo Nierman (1932-2023), a Mexican-born son of Lithuanian Jews who later became known for his boldly colorful abstractions. What here, at first glance, appears to be entirely abstract actually has ghostly shapes of sails and hints of a blue sky, which tie in with the title written on the back of the stretcher, "Buque phantasms" or Ghost Ship (see the second image). In 1957, David and Carmen Kreeger (founders of the eponymous museum in D.C.) had met Nierman in Mexico City and in 1959 exhibited his work in their home in Forest Hills, though this work was not in that exhibition. (The Kreeger Museum has a later outdoor sculpture donated by Nierman.) The artist's commercial career began in 1959 when he was taken on by the I.F.A. Galleries in D.C., the year of this painting. The inscription "Washington" on the stretcher likely indicates that it was sent to the I.F.A. Galleries.