Burroughs was born outside of Boston, but grew up in Cincinnati. Unable to support himself as a painter, he worked for many years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with the under-standing that he would be allowed to paint in the morning and thus would work only in the afternoons. Burroughs's paintings were strongly influenced by the French muralist Puvis de Chavannes (1824-1898), whom he knew in Paris, but they also often contain elements that evoke modern life, giving his classical subjects a gently humorous, contemporary flavor. This painting once belonged to the noted American sculptor Malvina Hoffman (1887-1966), who was part of Burroughs's social circle.