In 1905, Arthur Davies took a trip west to Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California, where the experience of a new landscape affected his approach to painting. In Night's Overture, painted shortly after this revelatory journey, Davies is less concerned with a factual representation of nature, instead choosing to evoke a particular mood. The silhouette of the trees against the light sky and the repetition of curving motifs form patterns, resulting in a dreamlike setting, and emphasizes the meditative - even spiritual - quality of the landscape.