Harry Humphrey Moore was born deaf, but overcame this physical challenge through the encouragment of his wealthy family who saw that he was provided the best in education and who encouraged him in his studies as an artist. At the age of twenty-two, Moore entered the École des Beaux-Arts as a student of Gérôme thanks to the efforts of Thomas Eakins to get Moore, Bridgman and, probably Earl Shinn, admitted. After completing his studies in 1869, Moore travelled to Spain with Eakins to visit the sites of Seville and Madrid. Moore was greatly impressed by the country and elected to stay on to visit Segovia and Granada after Eakins returned to Paris. He became friends with Fortuny, Rico, Marchetti and Madrazzo, and his paintings show how he combined their influences with the lessons of Gérôme to create precisely rendered and highly colored compositions. In 1872 Moore married the daughter of Colonel Cistue of Saragossa and soon after the couple moved to Morocco for two and a half years. This period afforded Moore and opportunity to study the exotic cities of Tangier and Fez. By 1887, when Moore painted Leaving the Alhambra, Moore's exotic travels had lead him as far afield as Japan and back, but his interest in "Orientalist" subject never wanned and it is these very pictures which established his reputation.