before painting Dismissal of School on an October Afternoon, Inman had recently returned from a year abroad where he had studied his English contemporaries' landscape and genre paintings. Placing the scene in the rustic American countryside with references to Irving's story, Inman's painting is proudly nationalistic through its celebration of the idyllic American landscape. With genre scenes of childhood, Inman hoped to highlight the superiority of a rural childhood to an urban one. Exhibition history Less than a month after his death, a memorial exhibition of his work opened on February 10 at the American Art-Union. This exhibition featured 126 of his works, including Dismissal of School on an October Afternoon. In a review of the exhibition, the August 1846 issue of The American Whig Review remarked, "rarely do we see a landscape so winning as this" one by Inman. Over a century later, the painting was a part of "The Art of Henry Inman" exhibit at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery from April 2–August 2, 1987. The exhibition featured over 100 works created by Inman and several portraits of him done by his contemporaries. Curated by William Gerdts, it was the first retrospective of his work since his 1846 memorial exhibit. In 1992, this painting was featured in the "An Exhibit of American Painting, 1815–1865: from the M. and M. Karolik Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston." Related works Dismissal from School on an October Afternoon was not Inman's only work influenced by Irving. Inman was particularly interested in Rip van Winkle. In 1823, Rip Van Winkle Awakening from His Long Sleep was painted. Several years later Inman painted his James Henry Hackett as Rip Van Winkle. There is also an undated sketch titled Rip Van Winkle. Provenance James Cozzens commissioned the painting. Ownership soon passed to William P. Jones. Jones wrote about the painting in the November 24, 1845 issue of the New York Evening Gazette. In 1870, art collector and bibliophile James Lenox bought the painting. It was displayed in his Lenox Library, and was included in the 1879 edition of the Gallery's Catalogue. Likely a favorite in his collection, the painting was likely displayed through 1892, as it appeared in the 1885 and 1893 catalogues. After Lenox's death, in 1895, the painting, along with the rest of the Lenox Library's art and book collection, was given to help form the New York Public Library.