Kenneth Lochhead is known as a member of the Regina Five, a regional movement credited with the rise of abstraction in the Canadian prairies. In 1950, Lochhead moved from Ottawa to Regina to accept the position of director of the Regina College School of Art. He and his colleague Arthur McKay revitalized the annual Emma Lake workshops to allow visiting artists to conduct two-week workshops. These workshops attracted several prominent figures, including American artists such as Barnett Newman.

Lochhead absorbed many influences, but was particularly affected by visiting critic Clement Greenberg in 1962. Greenberg recommended the abandonment of Abstract Expressionism in favour of an approach focused on pure colour, for which he coined the term Colour Field painting. Lochhead’s Rich Rise of 1970 is one of a series of paintings done by the artist using a spray technique to stain the canvas with bands of colour.