Little is known about the early life of Scottish-born artist Andrew Melrose, though available literature often notes that he was largely self-taught. He is thought to have come to America in 1856, stopping in New York before moving on to Toronto. Within ten years, Melrose, along with his wife, had relocated to the New York area. His first great success came in 1867 when he was commissioned by the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad to commemorate the extension of their line to Council Bluff, Iowa.

The following year, the artist began to exhibit at the National Academy of Design, a practice he continued through 1883. During the 1870s, Melrose was represented by the Mathews Gallery in New York, where he showed large landscape work in the style of Frederic Edwin Church, notably Morning in the Andes and Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.