Although born in London, Harry Bloomfield resided for most of his life in Belgium and France. He had traveled to Paris as a young man and had joined a circle of artists that included Renoir and Guillaumin and had commenced painting in the manner of the Impressionists. It appears that he had established a studio in Brussels by 1900 and his work was soon becoming appreciated by the Belgian art cognoscenti. Painting with a vivid palette and in a free, vigorous fashion his portraits, nudes, landscapes, and still-lifes were eagerly collected. Dividing his time between studios in Paris and Brussels he was exhibiting his work in both countries but achieved greater success in Paris. In 1913 a work entitled ‘Femme Assoupie’ was accepted for exhibition at the Salon d’Automne, a venue associated with the works of the Impressionists and post-Impressionists. Gerard Schurr in his book Dictionnaire des Petits Maitres makes note of Bloomfield’s ‘…construction toute cezannienne’ referring to his predilection for painting in the manner of Cezanne.