Jasper Francis Cropsey (February 18, 1823 – June 22, 1900) was an American architect and artist. He is best known for his

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th-century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. Early on, the paintings typically depicted the Hudson River Valley and the sur ...

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

paintings.

Early years

Jasper Francis Cropsey The Narrows from Staten Island detail 1 Amon Carter Museum

Cropsey was born on his father Jacob Rezeau Cropsey's farm in Rossville on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, the oldest of eight children. As a young boy, Cropsey had recurring periods of poor health. While absent from school, Cropsey taught himself to draw. His early drawings included architectural sketches and landscapes drawn on notepads and in the margins of his schoolbooks.

Career

Cropsey trained as an architect under the tuition of Joseph Trench in the early 1840s, a period in which he was also trained in watercolor painting, instructed by Edward Maury, and took some life drawing courses at the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

. He set up his own architecture office in 1843, but began exhibiting his watercolors at the National Academy of Design in 1844. A year later he was elected an associate member and turned exclusively to landscape painting; shortly after he was featured in an exhibition entitled "Italian Compositions". Cropsey traveled in Europe from 1847 to 1849, visiting England, France, Switzerland, and Italy. He was elected a full member of the Academy in 1851. Cropsey was a personal friend of Henry Tappan, the president of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1852 to 1863. At Tappan's invitation, he traveled to

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

in 1855 and produced two paintings, one of the

Detroit Observatory The Detroit Observatory is located on the corner of Observatory and Ann streets in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was built in 1854, and was the first scientific research facility at the University of Michigan and one of the oldest observatories of its ...

, and a landscape of the campus. He went abroad again in 1856, and resided seven years in London, sending his pictures to the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

and to the International exhibition of 1862. Returning home, he opened a studio in New York and specialized in autumnal landscape paintings of the northeastern United States, often idealized and with vivid colors. Cropsey co-founded, with ten fellow artists, the American Society of Painters in Water Colors in 1866. He also made the architectural designs for the stations of the elevated railways in New York.

Hudson River School

By the Sea Lulworth-Jasper Francis Cropsey-1857

Cropsey's interest in architecture continued throughout his life and was a strong influence in his painting, most evident in his precise arrangement and outline of forms. But Cropsey was best known for his lavish use of color and, as a first-generation member from the Hudson River School, painted autumn landscapes that startled viewers with their boldness and brilliance. As an artist, he believed landscapes were the highest art form and that nature was a direct manifestation of God. He also felt a patriotic affiliation with nature and saw his paintings as depicting the rugged and unspoiled qualities of America. Jasper Cropsey died in anonymity but was rediscovered by galleries and collectors in the 1960s. Today, Cropsey's paintings are found in many major American museums, including the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

, the

North Carolina Museum of Art The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) is an art museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It opened in 1956 as the first major museum collection in the country to be formed by state legislation and funding. Since the initial 1947 appropriation that ...

, the

Currier Museum of Art The Currier Museum of Art is an art museum in Manchester, New Hampshire, in the United States. It features European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture. The permanent collection includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Mo ...

, the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

, the

University of Michigan Museum of Art The University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) is one of the largest university art museums in the United States, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with . Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alu ...

, the

Museum of the Shenandoah Valley The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley is located at 901 Amherst Street, Winchester, Virginia. The Museum endeavours to preserve and enrich the cultural life and heritage of the Valley. Located on the largest green space in the city of Winchester, ...

, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

, the

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a museum of American art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The museum, founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie, officially opened on 11 November 2011. It offers free public admission. Overview ...

, the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...

, the

Timken Museum of Art The Timken Museum of Art is a fine art museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, close to the San Diego Museum of Art. It was established in 1965. History The groundwork for the museum was laid in 1951 when Walter Ames helped sisters A ...

in San Diego, the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...

, the

Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), comprising the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco. FAMSF's combined attendance was 1,1 ...

, the

Princeton University Art Museum The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is the Princeton University gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. With a collecting history that began in 1755, the museum was formally established in 1882, and now houses over 117,000 work ...

, and the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

. Works by Cropsey also hang in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Works

Some of Cropsey's works include ''

Jedburgh Abbey Jedburgh Abbey, a ruined Augustinians, Augustinian abbey which was founded in the 12th century, is situated in the town of Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders, north of the border with England at Carter Bar. History Towards the middle of the 9th ...

''; ''Pontaine Marshes'' (1847); ''Backwoods of America'' (1857); ''Richmond Hill'' (1862); ''Indian Summer'' (1866); ''Greenwood Lake'' (1875); ''

Lake Nemi Lake Nemi (, , also called Diana's Mirror, ) is a small circular volcanic lake in the Alban Hills south of Rome in the Lazio region of Italy. It takes its name from Nemi, the largest town in the area, which overlooks it from a height. It was ...

in Italy'' (1879); ''Old Church at Arreton, Isle of Wight'' (1880); '' Ramapo Valley'' (1881); ''Autumn on the Hudson'' (1860): ''Wawayanda Valley'' (1883); ''Spring-time in England'' (1884); ''October in Ramapo Valley'' (1885); ''Autumn on Lake George'', and ''A Showery Day'' (1886). His architectural works included New York City

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Ty ...

s, the since-demolished 14th Street station for the

IRT Sixth Avenue Line The Interborough Rapid Transit Company, IRT Sixth Avenue Line, often called the Sixth Avenue Elevated or Sixth Avenue El, was the second elevated railway in Manhattan in New York City, following the IRT Ninth Avenue Line, Ninth Avenue Elevated. ...

in Manhattan, and St. Luke's Episcopal Church on

. File:The-spirit-of-war.jpg, ''The Spirit of War'', 1851 File:Jasper Francis Cropsey - High Torne Mountain, Rockland County, New York.jpg, ''High Torne Mountain'', Rockland County, New York, 1851 File:Jasper Francis Cropsey - The Coast of Genoa - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Coast of Genoa'', 1854 File:Jasper Francis Cropsey - Catskill Mountain House - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Catskill Mountain House'', 1855 File:Cropsey, Jasper Francis - Summer, Lake Ontario - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Summer, Lake Ontario'', 1857 File:Autumn--On the Hudson River-1860-Jasper Francis Cropsey.jpg, ''Autumn on the Hudson'', 1860 File:Jasper Francis Cropsey - Autumn on Greenwood Lake - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Autumn on Greenwood Lake'', 1861 File:Jasper Francis Cropsey The Narrows from Staten Island Amon Carter Museum.jpg, ''The Narrows from Staten Island'', 1868 File:The Valley of Wyoming MET DT4598.jpg, '' The Valley of Wyoming'', 1865, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:JasperCropsey-Greenwood Lake 1875.jpg, ''Greenwood Lake'', 1875,

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

File:Greenwood Lake by Jasper Francis Cropsey, 1879.jpg, ''Greenwood Lake'', 1879 File:JasperCropseyUniversityOfMichigan.jpg, ''University of Michigan'', Jasper Cropsey, 1855,

Some of Cropsey's painting command high prices at auctions. ''Greenwood Lake'' (1879) sold at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

auction in 2012 for $422,500. Sunset, Camel's Hump, Lake Champlain (1877) sold for $314,500 in 2011.

Collection

Cropsey's home and studio,

Ever Rest Ever Rest is the home and studio of Jasper F. Cropsey, a painter in the Hudson River School. The historic house museum is located in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York and was built in 1835. Cropsey acquired the property in 1886 and built an artis ...

, in

Hastings-on-Hudson, New York Hastings-on-Hudson is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Greenburgh, New York, Greenburgh in the state of New Yo ...

, has the largest permanent collection of Cropsey's work, collected by his great-granddaughter Barbara Newington. The collection has been on display since 1977 and the founding of the

Newington-Cropsey Foundation The Newington-Cropsey Foundation (NCF) is a nonprofit private organization based in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. The foundation's aim is to maintain and preserve the works of Jasper Cropsey and the art movement he was a part of, the Hudson River ...

Personal life

Cropsey married Maria Cooley in May 1847. He had met her during one of his visits to

Greenwood Lake Greenwood Lake is an interstate lake approximately long, straddling the border of New York and New Jersey. It is located in the Town of Warwick and the Village of Greenwood Lake, New York (in Orange County) and West Milford, New Jersey (in ...

after 1843. Maria's father, Isaac P. Cooley, was a justice of the peace from 1837 to 1839 and became a judge over the

New Jersey Court of Common Pleas The New Jersey Court of Common Pleas was a civil court of general jurisdiction, which existed in New Jersey from 1704 until 1947. The Court of Common Pleas was established by an ordinance promoted by New Jersey's first royal governor Edward H ...

in 1840. Cooley then became a member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from 1860 to 1861. Cooley offered to build Cropsey a studio on his estate but the offer was declined. In 1869 Cropsey built a 29-room

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

mansion and studio in

Warwick, New York Warwick is a town in the southwestern part of Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 32,027 at the 2020 census. The town contains three villages (Florida, Greenwood Lake, and Warwick) and eight hamlets ( Amity, Bellvale, E ...

that he named

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

. As well as living in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he spent part of his time in Warwick until the mansion was sold in 1884. In 1884 Cropsey first rented then in 1885 bought a house at

he named ''

''. He and Maria had two children: Mary Cortelyou Cropsey Howells (b. September. 5, 1850, d. July 30, 1921) and Lilly Frances Cropsey (b. July 16, 1859, d. February 21, 1889). Cropsey lived at Ever Rest until his death on June 22, 1900, and his wife Maria lived there until she died in 1906, having been married to "Frank" for 54 years.Newington-Cropsey Foundation
- Retrieved August 28, 2017

Legacy and honors

*The

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

was named in his honor.

Monuments

File:Jasper Francis Cropsey Monument 2010.JPG, Headstone in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery File:NCF Ever Rest.jpg, Cropsey's home

File:NCF Gallery of Art.jpg, The

's Gallery of Art, a museum of Cropsey's works

References

Notes Sources *

External links

Works at The Athenaeum

Newington Cropsey Foundation

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Alfred Brophy, Property and Progress: Antebellum Landscape Art and Property Law, ''McGeorge Law Review'' 40 (2008): 651

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Biography and Works
Reynolda House Museum of American Art

''American Paradise: The World of the Hudson River School''
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Cropsey (see index)

at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cropsey, Jasper 1823 births 1900 deaths 19th-century American painters American male painters American landscape painters Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Hudson River School painters Luminism (American art style) People from Hastings-on-Hudson, New York People from Rossville, Staten Island Painters from New York City 19th-century American male artists

Early years

Career

Hudson River School

Works

Collection

Personal life

Legacy and honors

Monuments

See also

References

External links