A Savannah, Georgia, native, Hattie Saussy was known as a portraitist and traveled throughout the Southeast to paint regional landscapes. In Woman in Kimono, Saussy deviates from these subjects to create a genre scene influenced by the Japonism movement popular at the turn of the century. Although a watercolor, the image is reminiscent of Japanese wood block prints featuring flat areas of broad color, little to no shading, and a slightly off center composition.