Peter Alma was educated at the academy in The Hague and lived in Paris from 1906-07 until the First World War. Here he was in contact with artists of the international avant-garde. Alma was very committed politically and became a communist after the Russian Revolution in 1917. His art served his political views: art had to be accessible to the masses. He painted social subjects, especially port and factory workers, in a schematized style that was partly influenced by Bart van der Leck. To make his work available to the 'common man', Alma made woodcuts. He also made murals in public buildings to realize his ideal of art accessible to everyone. Especially known are the two murals in the Amstel station in Amsterdam.