The Cream of Wheat Company originally commissioned this painting, along with the two Newell Convers Wyeth paintings in this same gallery, as advertisements for their cereals. Philip R. Goodwin, an artist known for his wildlife paintings, received this important commission while in his early 20s, though it was not his first public work. At the age of 11, Goodwin sold an illustrated story to Collier's, a weekly illustrated journal that pioneered photojournalism. Goodwin continued to work on commercial commissions by producing illustrations for magazines and also covers for The Saturday Evening Post.