Koester was awarded medals in Berlin, Munich, St. Louis, London, Paris and Venice. His paintings were so highly prized that they were collected by many of the crowned heads of Europe.
Koester along with Heinrich von Zgel was one of the most important Impressionist animal painters from the Munich School. Originally pressured by his family to become a pharmacist, Koester abandoned his studies and entered the Staaliche Kunsthalle in Karlsruhe. There he trained under some of the most established painters in Germany such as Carl Hoff, Claus Meyer, Von Zgel and Leopold von von Kalckreuth. Koester's main residence was in Munich but he spent most of his time painting in Klausen in the Tirol. His early pictures were genre scenes of Tyrolian folk life and landscapes, later specializing in painting ducks which would establish his reputation. The present painting is unusual because of the inclusion of the yellow flowers, which are reminiscent of Koester's floral still lifes from early in his career.