Painter

Jasper Francis Cropsey

Jasper Francis Cropsey was an American Hudson River School painter celebrated for brilliantly colored autumn woods, river valleys, and detailed landscapes.

Jasper Francis Cropsey quick facts

Cropsey’s quick facts connect his Hudson River landscapes with later watercolor practice and the subjects, media, and supports of documented works.

Jasper Francis Cropsey quick facts
Full name	Jasper Francis Cropsey
Born	1823 · Rossville, Staten Island, New York, United States
Died	1900 · Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Movements	Hudson River School (associated landscape tradition)
Paint types	Oil Paint · Watercolor Paint · Gouache Paint
Other media	—
Other materials	—
Painting surfaces	Canvas · Paper
Painting methods	Made graphite studies, carefully composed oil paintings, and later watercolor-and-gouache studies
Common subjects	Autumn forests, Hudson River views, mountains, farming valleys, marshes, and village outskirts
Notable works	Autumn Landscape, Sugar Loaf Mountain, Orange County, New York · View of Mt. Washington · Hackensack Meadows · Hudson River Brick Piers

Sources: The Met: Autumn Landscape, Sugar Loaf Mountain, oil on canvas, The Met: Hackensack Meadows, watercolor and gouache on paper, National Gallery of Art: View of Mt. Washington, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art: Hudson River Brick Piers, watercolor on paper.

Paint types used by Jasper Francis Cropsey

Cropsey used oil for major Hudson River landscapes and watercolor with gouache for works on paper, including studies in The Met’s collection.

Oil paint

Cropsey’s Autumn Landscape, Sugar Loaf Mountain, Orange County, New York is cataloged as oil on canvas. He uses the changing foliage to structure the view of the valley, with autumn color distinguishing the wooded slopes and foreground. The large landscape shows his detailed attention to topography and seasonal atmosphere.
Watercolor

Cropsey made watercolor landscapes and studies on paper, including the Met’s Hackensack Meadows. That sheet also incorporates gouache and graphite, documenting a mixed-media works-on-paper practice separate from his finished oil canvases. Watercolor let him record open skies and marshland in a compact format.
Gouache

The Met records white gouache in Cropsey’s Hackensack Meadows and American Falls, Niagara, alongside watercolor or graphite on paper. The opaque white creates highlights over the more transparent passages, clarifying light on water and land. These museum records document gouache as part of his works-on-paper practice.

Sources: The Met: Autumn Landscape, Sugar Loaf Mountain.; The Met: Hackensack Meadows; The Met: American Falls, Niagara

Painting surfaces used by Jasper Francis Cropsey

Collection entries identify canvas and paper among Jasper Francis Cropsey’s supports, with the examples below grounding each material in documented works.

Canvas

Cropsey’s landscapes, including Autumn Landscape, Sugar Loaf Mountain, are documented as oil on canvas. The format carries his carefully observed American scenery, with seasonal color and topographic detail organized across a broad view. The museum record supports canvas for finished oil paintings, distinct from his smaller watercolor sheets.
Paper

Cropsey made watercolor and gouache studies on paper, including the Met’s Hackensack Meadows. The sheet records transparent washes, graphite drawing, and opaque white highlights together, showing how he used paper for mixed-media landscape studies in addition to oil paintings on canvas.