During the later 19th century, when European artists were influencing American landscape painters, George Inness looked to France for stylistic inspiration. After a trip to Europe in 1853-54, during which he came into contact with contemporary French painters, Inness adopted a loose, painterly style. By the late 1870s, he was interested in conveying the intimate, mysterious aspects of nature. This painting may depict a site near Monclair, New Jersey.