The present watercolor epitomizes Burchfield's early "house pictures," which would become the basis for his later American Scene painting. Burchfield's approach to modernism through this group of works is characterized by their abstracted style, exploration of synesthesia and fascination with memory and childhood. Burchfield highlights in his 1928 autobiographical article, "On the Middle Border," the significance of these early watercolors: 

"Surrounded by the familiar scenes of my boyhood, there gradually evolved the idea of re-creating impressions of that period, the appearances of houses, the feelings of woods and field, memories of seasonal impressions etc...As I progressed with this idea further back into childhood memories...I tried to re-create such moods as fear of the dark, the feeling of flowers before a storm, and even to visualize the songs of insects and other sounds. While perhaps most of these things had meaning only to me, I think that through them I developed a primitive outlook that became a basis for all my future work. It became a springboard to which I again and again returned..."