Born in a log cabin in Ohio, Worthington Whittredge traveled to Germany in 1849 to study painting with Emanuel Leutze at the Düsseldorf Academy. He remained in Europe for 10 years before returning to the United States, settling in New York City and becoming a major figure of the Hudson River School. Despite living in a major city, Whittredge returned again and again to the subject of American landscapes and forest interiors.