Harrison, born into a Philadelphia family of artists, began his training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He was convinced, however, by John Singer Sargent to continue his studies in Paris. Although Harrison began his career as a figure painter, his reputation was established through his landscapes.

Harrison settled in New York City in the early 1890's where he was encouraged by George Inness to paint the local environs. Similar to Inness, Harrison frequently depicted scenes at twilight, dawn or dusk when the contrasts between light and shadow were least evident. In 1897, Harrison came to Woodstock to establish an experimental school of landscape painting based not on the traditional practice of plein-air painting, but rather on the artist's sketches of the out doors and memory of color and other elements as conceived in the studio. In 1904, Ralph Radcliff asked Harrison, however, to become the director of painting at the Brydcliff colony. Harrison left two years later to found and direct the Art Students League Summer School in Woodstock, a post he held until 1911. He painted and remained in Woodstock until his death.

Harrison's landscapes conveyed a romantic ideology: he believed that the poetic moods of nature should both serve as the medium and as inspiration. Known for his images of the Catskill landscape in winter, Hauling Firewood is a manifestation of Harrison's beliefs, where the subtle variations of color and line come together to create a unified image that is not a direct replication of nature, but an evocation of peace and calm.