John Wells James painted this large landscape in the light and airy pastel colors of the season. The subject is rendered in the loose style of the Pennsylvania Impressionists, using bold swirling brushstrokes with thick dabs of paint. The scene is likely in the area around Solebury, Pennsylvania, where James resided. He was a member of the artistic community there and regularly submitted paintings to exhibitions at the famed Phillips Mill.

Despite the fact that James painted part time for most of his life (he was a successful businessman), he enjoyed a fair amount of acclaim. In 1950, when he retired from his wholesale drug company, he had his first one-man show at the Salmagundi Club in New York. Prior to this his work was also exhibited at such prestigious institutions as the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the National Academy of Design, the Carnegie Institute, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.