Childe Hassam was profoundly influenced by the work of the French Impressionists, particularly Monet, following several years living in France (1866 to 1899). He became one of the leading proponents of the Impressionist movement in America, utilizing the techniques he learned in France on the New England landscape. The Isles of Shoals lie ten miles off the mainland near the New Hampshire-Maine border, and were Hassam's favorite summer retreat.