William Hillock Low was a prominent force in the New York art world during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Known primarily as a muralist, Low studied with the French neo-classicist painter, Jean-Léon-Gérôme during the 1870s. Although the artist created a number of works in the style of his teacher, he eventually expanded his repertoire to produce works that were less linear in style, opting for a more expressionistic and textured application of paint. In addition to murals and canvases, Low also crafted stained-glass windows with John LaFarge, demonstrating his talent in composition and design, as well as the successful combination of diverse tonalities.

Low eventually settled at Lawrence Park, an artists’ colony in New York, where he remained until his death in 1932. During his career, Low contributed a number of influential articles on art to Scribner’s Monthly and Century and exhibited his works at the National Academy of Design, Brooklyn Art Association, Paris Salon and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Today, Low’s works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, and Montclair Art Museum.