Born in Cincinnati, Ohio to German immigrant parents, John H. Twachtman learned the basics of painting from his father who decorated window shades with landscape and still-life compositions.  He would eventually work at the same factory as his father while studying art in the evenings at the Mechanics Institute and later at the McMicken School of Design under American painter, Frank Duveneck.
     During Twachtman’s early career, he associated with other artists from his generation who rejected the concerns of the Hudson River School and found inspiration in the art of Europe.  His work during this period evolved from heavy layering of paint into more clearly defined designs and tonal arrangements.  After his training in Paris, Twachtman gained assurance in his draftsmanship, showed sensitivity to lighting and possessed a developed eye for elegant compositions.
      The latter phase of Twachtman’s career is characterized by his return to the United States in the winter of 1885-1886.  From this point he worked exclusively in America, experimenting with pastels and adopting an Impressionistic aesthetic in his oils.  In the fall of 1889 he settled in Greenwich, Connecticut, a place he found to be an endless source of artistic inspiration until his death in 1902.

(Cincinnati, Ohio, 1853 – 1902, Gloucester, Massachusetts)