Homer began to explore the medium of watercolor in 1873, a time of its ascendency as an independent medium in America. He soon mastered its difficulties with a fluid approach that involved the use of transparent pigments and the color of the paper itself, a departure from established artistic norms. His first watercolors depicted the sea and rocky shorelines of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and later Prouts Neck, Maine, where he expanded his repertoire to include fishermen in dramatic scenes of nature. Homer also found inspiration during the vacations he took in the Adirondacks and in the area around Burnt Mountain, a remote Appalachian wilderness in northern Vermont. In this late watercolor, a hunter and his guide rest atop the granite slope in a moment of quiet observation. A fallen tree, its roots silhouetted against a gray sky, provides a visual separation between the figures and the storm clouds overhead, not only creating a somber mood but also reminding us of the power of nature and humankind's place in it.