Lee Mei-shu was born in 1902 in Sanshia, Taipei. He studied at Taiwan Governor General School of Mandarin (predecessor of the National Taipei University of Education) under Ishikawa Kinichiro. In the March of 1929 he was admitted to the Tokyo School of Arts (Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko) where he concentrated on the study of such different schools as Classicism, Romanticism and Realism. His mentors at the time included Nagahara Koutarou, Kobayashi Mango, Okada Saburousuke, Yosimura Yosimatu . During the years 1927-1940, Lee Mei-shu had works selected for two major arts exhibitions i.e. the Taiwan Arts Exhibition and the Taiwan Governor General Arts Exhibition, and won the prestigious Special Honor, Direct Entry, Recommendation and Taiwan Arts Exhibition Award. In 1939, Lee's works were selected for the 3rd New Cultural Ministry Arts Exhibition as well as Imperial Year 2600 Arts Exhibition. Lee Mei-shu has also made a significant contribution to the preservation of traditional Taiwanese folk culture and arts, dedicating most part of his life to the reconstruction of the Sanhsia Tsushih Temple.

In a Greenhouse (1939) was a representative piece of Lee Mei-shu from his Impressionist period (1924-1948). While depicting the subject matter is a realistic manner, it places great emphasis on changing tones of lights and reflections. This painting features two women watching flowers in the green room, with the human figures occupying the center of the painting and the flowers decorating the background. The use of large blocks of bright colors on the human figures creates high contrast in light which gives the painting a three dimensionality. Armed with his classically trained oil painting skills, Lee Mei-shu built the painting with sophisticated palette, brush strokes and light to give the painting a poetic and elegant appearance.

Lee Mei-shu's art style reflects the focus of his training in Impressionist painting at Tokyo School of Arts (Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko). His paintings on female themes, which are elegant and rich in stories, show clear influence from Okada Saburousuke. After returning to Taiwan after completing the art training, Lee Mei-shu began to base his paintings on people and places surrounding his life. In the years 1939-40, Lee's paintings primarily revolved around the combined theme of human figures and flowers. Among such works, In a Greenhouse (1939) was honored with the Special Commendation in the 2nd Taiwan Governor General Arts Exhibition.