The German-born painter Oscar Bluemner (1867-1938) originally trained as an architect and, in 1892, emigrated to Chicago in search of building commissions. By 1900 he was in New York where his Beaux-Arts design had been chosen for the new Bronx County Courthouse.

About this time, he began sketching urban views and, by 1912, his career shift to a painter was cemented. Bluemner's works are primarily architectural landscapes - unpopulated, brightly-colored, and sharp-edged - and today he is often associated with the Precisionist aesthetic. These cool, architectonic visions grew more evocative with his integration of such mystical elements as oversized suns and moons, and hazy night scenes.