Harlem River at High Bridge

Ernest Lawson trained in the tradition of French Impressionism, studying the changing effects of light and atmosphere and painting with broken strokes of variegated color. Lawson's paintings incorporated a heavy impasto and decorative surface patterning, and in 1893, he left for France to study Impressionism at its source. Returning to the United States, Lawson sought to apply his training to the modern landscape to New York City, repeatedly painting urban settings with an Impressionist brush.