Under the Willows, part of Sargent’s series of paintings featuring women in boats on the Thames River, is an almost textbook example of French Impressionist subject and technique. He depicted an upper-middle-class woman at leisure from a distance that implies objective observation; built up the canvas with layers of rapidly applied, multi-directional brushstrokes; emphasized complimentary colors (primarily red and green); and above all concentrated on transitory effects of light and movement. Sargent created Under the Willows after visiting Claude Monet during the summer of 1887.