LeConte Stewart created a large masterpiece of this scene with snow in shadow reflecting the deep–blue sky during a cold winter afternoon. After the sun set, he quickly painted this smaller view and added the howling wolf, a romantic touch he consistently eschewed. In 1978 Stewart commented during an interview "I have been fond of the winter season; not alone for the winter mood it creates, but for the tonal and color quality it possesses. There is within such a scene an infinite number of color variations."