William Blair Bruce was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and received his early art education there. He was among the first Canadian artists to go to Paris for training, and once there, although he returned to Canada on several trips, he spent the rest of his life in France and Sweden. He achieved considerable success in Europe—his work was accepted to be shown at the prestigious Salon des Champs-Élysées and also at the Salon des Indépendants, and altogether he exhibited in a dozen Salon shows. In 1887 he spent time in Giverny, the home of Claude Monet, an experience that reinforced the influence of Impressionism in his work.