Asher B. Durand was a prominent figure in the New York art community, and served as president the National Academy of Design from 1845 to 1861. He was influenced by and worked alongside Thomas Cole, the founder of the Hudson River School. This group of artists sought to create a distinctly national style of painting incorporating highly detailed studies of nature into an idealized composition, emphasizing the smallness of human presence amidst the glory of divine creation. Durand wrote: ​“The true province of landscape art is the work of God in the visible creation, independent of man.”

This majestic landscape is one of four paintings that Asher B. Durand painted after a trip to Switzerland in 1840.