Reginald Marsh was intrigued with the workings of New York City and practically all his subjects came from observing every aspect of city life. After returning from a trip in Europe, Marsh wrote, 'I felt fortunate indeed to be a citizen of New York, the greatest and most magnificent of all cities in a new and vital country whose history had scarcely been recorded in art...' (L. Goodrich, Reginald Marsh, New York, 1972, p. 34).