During the spring, summer and autumn of 1906 Metcalf enjoyed what was to that point his most productive year, finishing twenty-six paintings.

The subject's romantic associations and subtle color harmonies reconciled the opposing tendencies of Tonalism and Impressionism within the colony.

Two figures are present: One woman walks across the lawn toward the house while another sits on the front porch, each of them clad in long pale dresses, which, for Metcalf biographer Bruce W. Chambers, heighten "the feeling of elegant tranquility.

According to Arthur Heming, whom Metcalf invited to view the painting soon after it was completed, the figure walking toward the house was intended to be Florence Griswold.

There it was awarded the Clark Gold Medal and $1,000, and was bought by the Corcoran for $3,000, thus becoming the gallery's first purchase of a contemporary American painting.

[10][8] As a result of the publicity from the exhibitions and sale of May Night, Metcalf's reputation, already well established, benefited both financially and critically: "From this time he was an acclaimed master of the Impressionist landscape.

"[9] After seeing the painting in Boston in November 1906, artist and critic Philip Leslie Hale wrote "One could hardly get a stronger sense of the beauty and mystery of night and springtime ... all changed to something new and strange by the magic of dim reflected light of the moon.