A notable genre painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Harry Roseland was born in Brooklyn, New York and remained there throughout his career. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not travel to Europe. He was largely self taught as an artist but did some study with J.B. Whittaker in Brooklyn.

At a time when abstract art was gaining ascendency, Roseland chose to paint what he saw in a realist style and early in his career painted landscapes and still lifes. But he soon discovered that his real interest was painting that told a story.

His early subjects were sentimental and depicted fashionable people, rural folk, and idealized farm scenes. He painted humorous scenes of blacks in Northern settings during the po...