Liebermann was fascinated by Holland. He made his first trip there in 1872 and returned on numerous occasions for years afterwards. He was inspired by the openness and flatness of the terrain and constantly discovered new motifs for his paintings. Because his trips to Holland were often short and sporadic he was able to maintain an objective point of view on all he saw there. One of his favourite themes was peasants engaged in everyday chores such as plucking geese, repairing nets or doing needle-work.

It appears that Liebermann first painted these sewing girls in Huyzen in 1889. He executed at least four oil paintings on the subject in the same year and four years later made a series in pastel. This method of re-working a subject after the oil was finished was unusual for Liebermann. It seems, due to the impressionistic effect and use of bright colours, that he was interested not only in the subject itself but that he used the subject to experiment with and develop his technique. Liebermann made three versions in pastel of which the present work is the most detailed and finished.

In a letter dated Berlin, 4 March 1993, Dr Matthias Eberle confirms the authenticity of this work