Alfred Stevens (1823-1906) enjoyed an artistic career that many painters of his era would have envied. His wide circle of friends and patrons, together with the far-ranging influence of his work, established him as one of the most important painters of his time. Stevens began his artistic studies in Brussels under the guidance of François Navez, one of the leading Belgian academic masters of the period. He continued his training in Paris under Camille Joseph Roqueplan, further refining the technical foundation that would define his mature career. His first canvases date from 1848, marking the modest beginning of what would become a spectacular professional life.

Stevens's year of absolute triumph came in 1867. Just forty-four years old, he had eighteen paintings included in the Universal Exposition, an extraordinary showing that won him a First Class Medal. He was promoted to Officer of the Legion of Honor and invited to the Imperial Grand Ball at the Tuileries, no small feat for an artist whose debut had come only nineteen years earlier. Stevens spent the first three decades of his career painting elegant women of the haute bourgeoisie dressed in the latest fashions, and it was through these refined depictions of Parisian society that he made both his fame and a considerable fortune.

In 1874 King Leopold of Belgium commissioned Stevens to paint a set of works illustrating the four seasons. This set remains in the Belgian Royal Collection to this day. Stevens's paintings were avidly collected by the most prominent figures of the late nineteenth century, including Walters, Havemeyer, Stewart, Belmont, and Vanderbilt. The American Impressionist William Merritt Chase owned no fewer than twelve of Stevens's paintings, and Vincent van Gogh was also among his admirers. Writing to his brother Theo in 1885, Van Gogh observed:

"Everything depends on the amount of life and passion that an artist knows how to put into his figures; when they live, an Alfred Stevens girl for example, is really very beautiful."

Stevens's paintings are held today in the Musée d'Orsay, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels, the Metropolitan Museum, and other major international collections.