The daughter of one of Seattle’s founding families, Emily Inez Denny (1853 – 1918) was both a painter and writer. Greatly influenced by seeing the drawings of Sarah Willoughby as a student at the Washington Territorial University, she took on painting as a life-long pursuit. Emily’s father, David Denny, supported her artistic aspirations and frequently brought home printing paper from the newspaper office for her use. Denny trained with Miss Parsons, Thomas Harrison, and Harriet Beecher. In 1909, she authored and illustrated "Blazing the Way," a book about Seattle’s early white settlers. The cabin depicted in this painting was the first Seattle home of the artist's parents and the young girl in the red dress is most likely Emily.