[1] This work may have influenced Julius Bloch in making his painting, The Man with the Blue Sweater.

[1] Looking at stylistic representation of light in the painting revealed a similarity to The Banjo Lesson.

[1] He pointed to a lit background behind her on the right "which helps to animate the entire composition and add life to the sultry head of the mulatto model.

[1] Tanner painted Woman From the West Indies in his "formative years" (1891-1893);[1] when he was an art student in France, learning his craft and influenced by the styles of others.

[5] The painting is one of seven paintings of people of color that Tanner did, including The Banjo Lesson, The Thankful Poor, Portrait of the Artist's Mother, Mother of Henry O., Portrait of Sister Sarah and Bishop Benjamin Tucker Tanner.