John Fulton Folinsbee was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1892. In 1906, he contracted polio and was forced to use a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. In 1914, the young artist married and moved to New Hope, where eight years later he and his wife built a spacious home overlooking the Delaware. He gained a considerable reputation for his Impressionist works, exhibiting widely and attaining many honors, including more than ten awards from the National Academy of Design. He was represented by one or more paintings in each Corcoran Biennial between 1916 and 1945. He died at New Hope in 1972.