Joseph Loomis, one of the first settlers of Windsor, come from Braintree, Essex County, England in 1639. He settled on "The Island" which became the ancestral home of the Loomis family, situated on elevated ground on the bank of the Farmington River, a short distance from the west bank of the Connecticut River. In 1874, Loomis's descendants established the Loomis Institute on the property. There is little evidence to suggest a specific date for this painting. It was given to Euphemia Loomis as a Christmas gift in 1880 and it is possible that it was painted about that date. However, it appears to show the house before it became the property of the Loomis Institute, so it may have been painted earlier than 1874. Artist Osbert Burr Loomis (1813-1886) was a Yale graduate and one of the founders of the Loomis Institute (later Loomis-Chaffee School) Loomis. studied in New York City and spent much of his life there. He painted portraits, panoramas and landscapes.