Auerbach’s landscapes are predominantly of the area of north London which includes Primrose Hill, Mornington Crescent and Camden Town, the location of his studio. This painting is one of the earliest in a series of works which depict Primrose Hill. It was painted during a long, hot summer - the bright colours and shadows in the foreground suggest the effects of dazzling sunlight. After making drawings on location, Auerbach works up the paintings in his studio. A lengthy process of painting, and then scraping off layers of paint to enable him to start again, meant that Auerbach would complete on average only two or three of these large paintings per year.