August Hagborg specialised early on in detailed depictions of folk life. Growing up on the Swedish west coast, he initially drew his subjects from there but became best known for his paintings from Normandy and Brittany in France. Since he was accustomed to life by the sea, he was drawn to the artist colonies along the French Atlantic coast. When he travelled to Brittany in 1877 with Georg Pauli, he achieved his major breakthrough with the painting "Väntan" which was exhibited at the Paris Salon and depicted a fisherman's wife gazing out over the sea. Thereafter, he continued to portray people in coastal communities, particularly fishermen and shellfish gatherers in their daily lives.

August Hagborg was also appreciated for his ability to combine realism with a atmospheric and warm painting style. Through meticulously rendered environments and expressive figures, he managed to create images that both documented people's everyday lives and evoked emotions in the viewer. His art is often characterised by a soft light and a tranquil presence, which contributed to making him one of the most successful Swedish artists in Paris during the late 19th century.