The 19th century landscape painter, George Inness, saw the artist's aim as "simply to reproduce in other minds the impression which a scene had made upon him."

He was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1825 and regardless of the virtual lack of support from his father and no formal training, became a member of the National Academy of Art in 1868.

Inness traveled extensively during his life, and works from these trips included Yosemite and Monterey Peninsula paintings. Innes focused on a light-infused tonalism and relied on glazes for his desired effects. He was a master of both watercolor and oil painting.