in the mid-1850s, inness was commissioned by the delaware, lackawanna and western railroad to create paintings which documented the progress of dlwrr's growth in early industrial america. "the lackawanna valley", painted c. 1855, represents the railroad's first roundhouse at scranton, pennsylvania, and integrates technology and wilderness within an observed landscape; in time, not only would inness shun the industrial presence in favor of bucolic or agrarian subjects, but he would produce much of his mature work in the studio, drawing on his visual memory to produce scenes that were often inspired by specific places, yet increasingly concerned with formal considerations.