Edward J. Steichen's oeuvre as a photographer is well known, as is his participation with Alfred Stieglitz and other artists in the pivotal Photo-Secession group, who from 1902 to 1910 exhibited their work in both a New York gallery and the magazine Camera Work...Steichen's early creative efforts included both paintings and photographs, often of the same subject.

Steichen preferred nocturnal scenes, with their "pictorial" tonal ranges and Symbolist spirituality...The square shape of this canvas, its compositional focus on the center section, and the surrounding areas of softly obscured forms echo Steichen's compositional techniques when photographing a landscape.

Steichen ceased painting in 1923 and concentrated his professional and creative efforts on his new job as chief of photography for Condé Nast Publications.

from Snite Museum of Art, Selected Works: Snite Museum of Art (Notre Dame, 2005)