Henry Roderick Newman was a self-taught landscape painter and one of the major forces in the American Pre-Raphaelite movement. In 1870, after having lived in New York City, Massachusetts, and Florida, Newman relocated to France until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War pushed him to Italy. Beginning in 1887, he spent each winter in Egypt. His landscapes are attentive, rich, and reveal the architectural and natural features of the many locations he traveled to. He is remembered primarily for his depictions of Italian and Egyptian architecture.