This painting was commissioned from the artist in 1880 by Catharine Lorillard Wolfe under the guidance of her cousin John Wolfe, one of Cot's principal patrons. When it was exhibited at the Salon that year, critics speculated about the source of the subject. Some suggested the Greek romance "Daphnis and Chloe" by Longus (ca. A.D. 200) and others, the romantic tale "Paul et Virginie" by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1737-1814).

Inscription: Signed and dated (lower left): P+A+COT+1880

Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, New York (1880–d. 1887; commissioned from the artist; her bequest to MMA)

Paris. Salon. May 1, 1880–?, no. 902 (as "L'orage").

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Taste of the Seventies," April 2–September 10, 1946, no. 80.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Impressionism: A Centenary Exhibition," December 12, 1974–February 10, 1975, not in catalogue.

Tulsa. Philbrook Museum of Art. "In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau & His American Students," September 17–December 31, 2006, no. 20.

Ocala, Fla. Appleton Museum of Art. "In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau & His American Students," February 9–May 27, 2007, no. 20.

The Art Treasures of America. reprint, 1977. New York, 1879, vol. 1, p. 134, ill. p. 125 (drawing after the painting).

Ph[ilippe]. de Chennevières. "Le Salon de 1880." Gazette des beaux-arts 21 (June 1880), p. 510 [reprinted as "Le Salon de peinture en 1880," 1880].

René Delorme. "La Peinture de genre." L'Exposition des beaux-arts (Salon de 1880). Paris, 1880, unpaginated, ill. (drawing after the painting).

Émile Michel. "Le Salon de 1880." Revue des deux mondes, 3ème pér., 39 (May 1, 1880), pp. 682–83.

Roger-Ballu. La Peinture au Salon de 1880. Paris, 1880, p. 67.

Maurice du Seigneur. L'Art et les artistes au Salon de 1880. Paris, 1880, pp. 30–31.

Frédéric de Syène. "Salon de 1880." L'Artiste, 9ème série, 31 (May–June 1880), p. 346.

Eugène Montrosier. "Les Peintres de genre." Les Artistes modernes. 1, Paris, 1881, p. 147.

Montezuma [Montague Marks]. "My Note Book." Art Amateur 16 (May 1887), p. 122.

Mrs. Schuyler van Rensselaer. "The Wolfe Collection at the Metropolitan Museum. I." Independent 39 (November 17, 1887), p. 6.

Clarence Cook. Art and Artists of Our Time. New York, 1888, vol. 1, pp. 88–90, ill.

Walter Rowlands. "The Miss Wolfe Collection." Art Journal, n.s., (January 1889), p. 13.

"The Catherine [sic] Wolfe Collection of Paintings." National Magazine (July–August 1893), p. 180.

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art—The French Painters." New York Times (May 22, 1895), p. 4.

Catalogue of the Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1898, p. 157, no. 525.

Arthur Hoeber. The Treasures of The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. New York, 1899, pp. 82–83, ill.

C. H. Stranahan. A History of French Painting from its Earliest to its Latest Practice. New York, 1899, p. 411.

Eva Maria Neumeyer. "The 'Jupon Bouffant' in Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's 'Paul et Virginie'." Gazette des beaux-arts 29 (May 1946), p. 301 n. 25, fig. 5.

Harry B. Wehle. "Seventy-Five Years Ago." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 4 (April 1946), p. 202, ill. p. 212.

Charles Sterling, and Margaretta M. Salinger. "XIX Century." French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2, New York, 1966, pp. 193–94, ill.

John Rewald. "Should Hoving Be De-accessioned?" Art in America 61 (January–February 1973), p. 28.

Carl R. Baldwin The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Impressionist Epoch. [New York], 1974, pp. 22–23, ill.

James Henry Rubin. "Who was Pierre-Auguste Cot?" Nineteenth Century 6 (Spring 1980), pp. 36–37, 39 n. 2, fig. 1.

James Henry Rubin. "Pierre-Auguste Cot's 'The Storm'." Metropolitan Museum Journal 14 (1980), pp. 191–200, fig. 1.

Hilton Brown. "Academic Art Education and Studio Practices." American Artist 49 (February 1985), pp. 44–45, ill.

19th Century European Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture. Sotheby's, New York. November 1, 1995, unpaginated, under no. 117.

Carol Vogel. "'Springtime' Rediscovered." New York Times (February 9, 1996), p. C26.

Rebecca A. Rabinow. "Catharine Lorillard Wolfe: The First Woman Benefactor of the Metropolitan Museum." Apollo 147 (March 1998), p. 52, fig. 9 (color).

Important 19th Century European Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture. Sotheby's, New York. May 5, 1999, pp. 114–17, under no. 99, fig. 1.

Fred Ross. "The Story of 'Springtime'." Artnet. January 6, 2000, ill. [www.artnet.com/magazine/features/ross/ross1-6-00.asp].

Anne Hollander. Fabric of Vision: Dress and Drapery in Painting. Exh. cat., National Gallery. London, 2002, p. 145, fig. 107 (color).

James F. Peck. In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau & His American Students. Exh. cat., Philbrook Museum of Art. Tulsa, 2006, p. 124 n. 3, pp. 126–27, 144, 193, no. 20, ill. (color).