Having studied art at the Düsseldorf Academy in Germany, the Philadelphia-born William Stanley Haseltine returned to Europe in 1866, funded by an auction of his work. He settled in Rome, painting mostly European subjects and exhibiting occasionally in the US. This view depicts Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, a medieval French monastery which sits atop a rocky island near the coasts of Normandy and Brittany. The abbey, which was constructed over a period of 1,300 years, remains a popular tourist destination today.