 Ward suggests that the picture may well have been affected by Howard's death and that Dickinson's decision to declare it finished on November 1, despite having left large areas unresolved, such as the section at the upper left, may have been determined by the fact that it was the anniversary of Herbert Groesbeck's death.In a way, Dickinson saw the painting as a triumph over death, describing his rapid conclusion of work on it by writing that it was "snatched from the grave in a few weeks.