Sunlight is created in the American impressionist style. It is a portrait of a woman, who has been identified as Benson's daughter, Eleanor, standing on a hill, looking out towards the Atlantic Ocean off Penobscot Bay in Maine. She is in a white dress that is getting ruffled by the wind blowing off the ocean. Her left hand is up, shielding her face from the sun, while her right hand is planted on her hip, a pose Benson used multiple times. Because of the woman shielding her eyes form the sun, it is likely that the sunlight is the actual subject of the painting.
