Sawyier is considered by many the Kentucky painter, though he was born in Ohio and ended up in New York state. Sawyier's family moved to Frankfort, Kentucky, when he was five years old, and nostalgic scenes of the city and its environs dominated his art, which was primarily executed in watercolor. In 1884 he traveled to Cincinnati to study at the Art Academy, first with Thomas Satterwhite Noble and then with Frank Duveneck. He also received instruction from William Merritt Chase at the Art Students League in New York City. He was one of the few proponents of Impressionism in the Commonwealth at the turn of the century. In 1913 he moved to New York, and oil painting became his primary medium. This etched scene of Frankfort shows the old covered bridge that was replaced in 1894. The etching bears a remarque of Sawyier's houseboat.