The boy on the white horse is a recurring motif for Bauer, who succeeded in creating his own visual language for the Swedish fairy tale tradition. The watercolor was first published as a print in the magazine Julbocken in 1907. In the same year, Bauer had his big breakthrough with the illustrations for the fairy tale collection "Among Elves and Trolls".
Despite the high selling price, Bauer's paintings have previously sold for even higher sums. In 2024, his "Fairytale Girl" was sold for 8.75 million at Bukowskis. According to the auction house, it was a new world record for a work by Bauer.
