Although landscape did not occupy a central space within the oeuvre of Paul Strand, he made landscape photographs. During his early pictorialist period, depictions of nature tended toward the creation of evocative and vaporous atmospheres. Later on, in the monographic books on different territories, landscapes occupied a special place once again. Along with portraits and images of traditional architecture, landscapes completed the essence of the different realities the photographer explored and aided in the configuration an encapsulated world with elements that were closely related. Seen together, the photographs offered a broad perspective on the specific character of a community.

In regards to modern art, Paul Strand highlighted what he learned from Cézannes concept of landscape. This included the French artist’s ability to integrate all of the separate elements within a painting, creating a united whole. In Tir a’Mhurain the planes appear in a gentle progression; from a nearby horse to the evocative house at the center of the image, and continuing until the horizon line, where the sky and the sea meet. Nevertheless, the landscape is somewhat flat and is integrated into the scene in the style of Chinese landscape painting. The elegant contrast between light and shadow in the photograph symbolizes the way in which the divide between the sea and the land is blurred in the islanders’ lives.