George Gardner Symons was born in Chicago and likely began his artistic education at the School of the Art institute of Chicago. He went on to work at the St. Ives artists' colony in Cornwall, England, where he adopted the Impressionist technique of painting en plein air. Symons traveled extensively in pursuit of artistic subjects, maintaining studios in a number of locations, including Colrain, Massachusetts, where he likely created The Winter Sun. He especially enjoyed the challenges of depicting wintry landscapes, which he largely completed outside in the elements. Symons's approach in such mature works had a forceful breadth that critics saw as particularly American in character. Paintings like The Winter Sun thus found great favor among American audiences and museums, which acquired many of his works.