Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Laufman became a resident of Woodstock in the 1940s and played a significant role in the Woodstock Artists Association. Having studied in France throughout the 1920's and 30's, Laufman, partly influenced by Cezanne, became increasingly interested in nature and its redemptive qualities. From the 1950's until the 1970's, he focused primarily in his work on expressing the essence of the landscape which he believed to be trees. As illustrated in the present work, Laufman reduced these natural forms into elemental shapes containing only traces of their original structure.