The evolving status of oil sketches by American landscape painters transformed them from private studio exercises into marketable works of art between 1830 and 1880. Eleanor Jones Harvey, consulting curator of American Art for the Dallas Museum of Art, explores this shift by tracing the journeys of prominent artists like Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt. These artists ventured into remote locations to capture new imagery, with their on-the-spot sketches serving both as marketing tools for larger studio works and as objects of growing public appreciation. Harvey's study, drawing on extensive new research and analysis of existing resources, examines the changing perception and increasing value placed upon these smaller artistic creations.

The book is recognized as the first volume to specifically focus on the sketches of major American landscape artists from the mid-nineteenth century. Its author, Eleanor Jones Harvey, is noted for her expertise as a consulting curator of American Art. The study is praised for its foundation in new research and detailed analysis of existing resources, offering insights into the changing status and public appreciation of these works. The narrative follows artists from their field expeditions to their studio practices, highlighting the significance of these sketches.