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Inness traveled in Europe and studied painting. Back in the United States he became a successful painter, but he had difficulty supporting his family because of his poor financial management and his tendency to (literally) throw prospective buyers out of his studio if they haggled over a price or expressed an opinion about art.

He would sometimes paint with great control. At other times he painted with a frenzy, spraying paint all over himself and using his shirttail as a paint rag ("We don’t know just what it's going to be but it's coming!") A sea painting would change to grass, and then to snow.. until he became exhausted. Whenever he made a disastrous change, he would sometimes accuse a bystander having painted on the picture.

A rich industrialist (Thomas B. Clark) eventually took over the financial management. Inness could complete a dozen paintings a day when he was not stuck on one canvas.

He made $20,000 per year.

In 1855 he painted Lackawanna Valley for a railroad company.  Since the company only owned one train and one set of tracks, that was what he painted.  The railroad's president told him that they wanted more trains in the picture.  He was finally told that he would have to make the additions or not be paid.  He made the additions but hid them behind trees and smoke.)