Daniel Ridgeway Knight was one of the top plein air (outdoor) painters of his time. In order to faithfully record his landscapes, Knight studied the different phases of the day and their effects on the environment. He built a glass studio outside of his home, enabling him to paint outdoors even in the dead of winter. Each scene is depicted with great detail and with specific attention to a realistic portrayal of the landscape. Knight focused on depicting the rural classes during their happier moments. His works during the 1870s and 1880s portrayed the peasant at work in the fields or doing the day’s chores — collecting water or washing clothes at the riverside. By the mid-1890s, he established a home in Rolleboise, France, near Paris. Here he began to paint scenes that would make his work sought after by collectors — views of his garden, with women featured among the blooming flowers. Knight’s home had a garden terrace that overlooked the Seine River — a view he often used in his paintings.