Depicting an industrial mill complex in a flat, angular style, Spencer’s Waterfront Mill, like Charles Sheeler’s Water, notably lacks signs of human presence and activity. The mill is pristinely painted with clean edges and smooth brushwork; there is no evidence of age or wear-and-tear. Thus, Spencer’s composition, based on a historical mill in Bristol, Rhode Island, appears as an emblem of timeless efficiency. Interest in such examples of vernacular architecture spiked among artists after the end of World War I and through World War II, partly because their no-nonsense design seemed to exemplify the phrase "form follows function," coined by architect Louis Sullivan.