The Belgian West Coast, snugly between the Yser estuary and the French border, saw a slower rise of mass tourism and remained relatively unattained for a long time, which has been a blessing for artists of all kinds. With a passion painters, sculptors, literary men and composers have been depicting the many faces of the sea. Empathically they have portrayed the lives of fishermen and their families, painted the capricious climate and ever changing light, captured the essence of those careless summers spent along the seaside. Despite two World Wars, artists have always had a soft spot for the Belgian West Coast, some were merely passing through, some found a permanent home there. Emile Verhaeren, Willem Elsschot, Jean Cocteau, Paul Delvaux, and many others sang praise and immortalized the West Coast in their works. Over ten decades of artistic activity has rightfully put De Panne, Koksijde, Sint-Idesbald and Nieuwpoort on the cultural map. This book charts the diverse and colourful artistic expressions that were born from this fertile soil.