Ann Strean was born at Magherafeld, county Derry, Ireland, the daughter of Archibald and Ann (Philips) Strean. In 1807 she was married to Samuel Thomson in Elizabeth, New Jersey. They subsequently lived at 13 Cedar Street in lower Manhattan and later in Riverdale and Inwood. Joseph Thomson Cookingham, donor of this portrait of Mrs. Thomson as well as one of Mr. Thomson, is the couple's great-grandson.

Jonas P. Levy was a seaman, ship's captain and merchant who lived and worked in New York. He was the brother of Uriah Levy, the naval officer who purchased Monticello from the heirs of Thomas Jefferson. (The estate was later administered by the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation.)

The Catskill Mountains were an important subject for Cole from the beginning of his career; in 1836 he moved to the village of Catskill on the west bank of the Hudson River, and the distinctive undulating mountain peaks were a regular motif in his work. In this painting from his late career, the artist acknowledged the encroachment of civilization on his beloved mountains, but nonetheless depicted them as a haven where man and nature could harmoniously co-exist. From the 1820s on, the Catskill area became an increasingly popular tourist destination and commercial enterprise made inroads as well, to Cole's grave concern. In 1836 the Canajoharie & Catskill Railroad begin clearing land for a 26-mile line. In a letter that year to his patron Luman Reed, Cole fumed at "the dollar-godded utilitarians" who were cutting down trees in the valley. In this autumnal twilight view, the ax-hewn tree in the left foreground is a pointed reminder of man's presence, and the smoke in the background, carefully placed at the center of the composition, hints ominously at growing industry in the area. However, the viewer's eye ultimately rests upon the foreground figure pulling his small boat from the water as a companion, almost hidden in the rocks, gestures toward the still-wild, primeval woods.

Washington Hunt received the Democratic nomination for the governorship of New York in 1850, and defeated his opponent, Horatio Seymour, by a narrow margin the following year. Seymour challenged Hunt again in 1852 and defeated him for reelection.

This portrait, executed in 1941, was copied from an engraving, photograph, or another oil painting.