Jasper Francis Cropsey
American, 1823 - 1900Hudson River View, Summer, 1862
On view
Oil on canvas
Dimensions33 3/8 × 53 1/4 in. (84.8 × 135.3 cm)
Framed: 41 1/2 × 61 1/4 in. (105.4 × 155.6 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jay C. Thompson, 1963.9
Jasper Cropsey received some private instruction in art and took several classes at the National Academy of Design; these brief endeavors constituted his professional training. Concentrating on landscape painting, he found particular inspiration in Greenwood Lake, New Jersey.
In the mid-1850s, Cropsey began to gain recognition for his autumnal scenes. Hudson River View, Summer aptly displays Cropsey's technique of dramatizing bucolic scenes with a dynamic compositional structure, vibrant brushwork, and a luminous and diffused golden light with warm tonalities. The most striking aspect of Hudson River View, Summer is the sky, sublime in its array of color and light effects that denote an approaching summer sunset. This majestic landscape is exceptional in scale and numbers among the artist's more monumental compositions.
