It was in the summer of 1903 that Coburn first came under the influence of Arthur Dow, the director of the Summer School at Ipswich, Massachusetts which Coburn attended following his first one-man exhibition held at the prestigious Camera Club in New York.

Arthur Dow recognised the expressive powers of photography and encouraged Coburn to use the camera for artistic expression. At the same time, he introduced Coburn to Oriental art, specifically 'the simplicity and directness of composition', which were to have a significant influence on his work in the years to come. In Alvin Langdon Coburn: An Autobiography, Coburn recalls I think all my work has been influenced to a large extent and beneficially by this oriental background, and I am deeply grateful to Arthur Dow for this early introduction to its mysteries.