Charles Demuth spent the winter of 1916–17 in Bermuda, where he worked exclusively in watercolor. In both "Tree Forms" and its reverse, "Landscape with Pink Pagoda (Bermuda Landscape)," Demuth established his signature style by laying down delicate color washes, which he then blotted dry in order to create subtle gradations in his newly tropical palette.

Convinced of the importance of this body of work, Demuth later recounted: “John Marin and I drew our inspiration from the same source, French modernism. He brought his up in buckets and spilt much along the way. I dipped mine out with a teaspoon, but I never spilt a drop.”