William Sargeant Kendall studied under Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He went on to work as a painting instructor for several decades, eventually serving at the Dean of Fine Arts at Yale University from 1913-1922. Many of Kendall's paintings portray intimate family relationships between mothers and daughters, and he frequently used his wife, Margaret, and his daughters Elisabeth, Beatrice, and Alison as models.

After 1922, Kendall developed an interest in painting female classical nudes. This subject dominated his creative output for the last fifteen years of his life, resulting in works with titles such as Keheilet, Eidolon, and Cypripedia. The word "Cypripedia" translates to any plant or flower of the genus Cypripedium, a plant found in the orchid family. The cypripedia in this painting sprouts from the earth beside the nude female figure.