In the late 1950s, de Kooning started to spend more time in the rural and peaceful town of East Hampton, in contrast to the bustling city streets of New York. His painting, Rosy-Fingered Dawn at Louse Point, still embodies his signature bold brushstrokes, but the arrangement and color palette are noticeably different. The new palette, which curator John Elderfield describes as "rococo hues of pink, yellow, and blue," is linked to de Kooning's recent trip to Italy. The bright, pastel colors convey a sense of a brighter landscape and the reflection of water. Louse Point, a beach near his new studio, inspired the painting's title, which references Homer's epic The Odyssey. The pink forms also recall de Kooning's various representations of women. Although the painting does not depict any landscape or figure, de Kooning's quote, "The landscape is in the Woman and there is Woman in the landscape," invites us to imagine a connection between them.

The painting's surface is richly textured and varied. Some areas are heavily impastoed, where de Kooning applied thick layers of paint, while other parts are thin and dry, where he pressed newspaper onto the surface to absorb excess oil. Elderfield also notes that the drips of paint run in different directions, indicating that de Kooning worked on the canvas from multiple angles before settling on its final orientation. This adaptability and openness demonstrates de Kooning's spontaneity and his reluctance to commit to a particular form or composition until he felt it was ready.