Born in Albany, New York, Richard Goodwin began his painting career as a portrait painter but turned to still lifes, probably influenced by the highly realistic style of William Harnett. His work is distinctive for his many subjects that are cabin doors, likely over 100, decorated with hunting and other outdoor equipment. All of them were very large and completed after 1886 when William Harnett introduced trompe l'oeil painting in New York with After the Hunt that got much public attention.

Of his career, Alfred Rubenstein wrote in After the Hunt: "He painted portraits for a living and landscapes for love, but above all he delighted in the hunter's cabin door."

An idea for one of his cabin door paintings came about in 1905 wh...