Like many other gifted and driven artists of his generation, including Henry Ossawa Tanner and Diego Rivera, he sought his training in Europe.

After a brief return to America, Twachtman studied from 1883 to 1885 at the Académie Julian in Paris, and his paintings dramatically shifted towards a soft, gray and green tonalist style.

He often painted and exhibited with fellow artist Julian Alden Weir, and spent considerable time at the art colony in Cos Cob.

Ironically, his lack of commercial success contributed to his artistic independence, freeing him from the temptation of producing salable pictures according to a proven formula.

In the summers of 1900–1902, Twachtman visited Gloucester, Massachusetts, another center of artistic activity in the era, and produced a series of vibrant scenes that anticipated a more modernist style yet to gain prominence in American art.