Painter Clara Sophia Hagarty had been working in France and Holland but returned to Canada in the late 1890's and established a studio in Toronto. But she would return to Europe on numerous occasions, sending work back to Canada for the annual exhibitions of the Ontario Society of Artists and the Royal Canadian Academy. Hagarty's Flower Market, Paris was inspired by her early visits to the French capital. The flowers, executed in broad brush strokes of pink, white and yellow, and the loose handling of the figures suggest the influence of Impressionism. In the numerous flower studies she was to paint later in her career, Hagarty retained many elements of her early work. By applying long uneven brush strokes she would build the texture of the paint, and her use of pastels helped her achieve a wide range of both strong and subdued colouring.