Jasper Francis Cropsey was born on 18. Feb. 1823 at Westfield Twp., Richmond County, New York. He was the son of
Jacob Rezeau Cropsey and
Elizabeth Hilyer Cortelyou. Jasper Francis Cropsey married
Maria Cooley on 1. May. 1847 at New York. Jasper Francis Cropsey died on 22. Jun. 1900 at Hastings, Westchester County, New York, at age 77. He was buried at New Dorp, Richmond County, New York. The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume III
C
Crosby, Alpheus
page 50
Cropsey, Jasper Francis, artist, was born at Westfield, N.Y., Feb. 18, 1823; son of Jacob Kezeau and Elizabeth Hilyer (Cortelyou) Crop-sey; and grandson of Harmon Cropsey. His paternal great-grandfather came from Holland, and his mother's family were French Huguenots, but his father and mother were born on Staten Island, N.Y. His education was acquired at the country schools near his home, and in after years chiefly by self-culture. At the age of thirteen he received a diploma from the Mechanics' institute "for a well-executed model of a house," also one from the American institute for the same model, which attracted so much attention at the time of its exhibition in 1837, that he was called the "Boy that built the House," and secured a position in the office of Joseph Trench, an architect of prominence, with whom he studied, 1837-42. Shortly after entering the office he received a diploma from the American [p.50] institute for architectural drawing. During these years of architectural study he received a few lessons in watercolor painting from Edward Maurey, an English teacher. His first picture of importance, "Greenwood Lake from Orange county, N.Y.," was painted in 1844, and upon its exhibition at the National academy of design, he was elected an associate academician. He studied in Italy, 1847-49; visited Scotland, and painted a view of Jedburgh Abbey for Mr. John Rutherford, and "The Sybil's Temple," for the Art union. He was elected a National academician in 1851. He resided in London, 1856-63, exhibiting regularly at the Royal academy, and was elected a member of the London society of arts, and also a complimentary member of the London Athenaeum club. He was assistant commissioner at the International exhibition of 1862 in London and received a medal for his services. Chief among the pictures exhibited by him at this time were "Autunm on the Hudson," and "Richmond Hill in 1862." He painted a series of sixteen landscapes of American scenery for E. Gambert & Co., publishers, London, England. He was presented at court to Queen Victoria, by the U.S. minister, Charles Francis Adams. His pictures, exhibited at the Royal academy, were favorably mentioned by John Ruskin. He received a medal and diploma from the Centennial exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876 "for oil painting," the pictures exhibited being "The Old Mill." and "Bonchurch, Isle of Wight." He also painted the "Battlefield" of Gettysburg" shortly after the battle. His picture "The Mellow Autumn Time," was shown at the American exhibition in London in 1887. Mr. Cropsey designed and superintended the construction of the 6th avenue elevated railway stations from Rector street to Central park, New York. He also designed and superintended the erection of cottages at Long Branch. He was elected an honorary member of the Pennsylvania academy of fine arts; a life member of the Lotus club; a member of the Union league club; a member of the Century association in 1851; of the American Water Color society, 1867; a fellow of the Society of Science, Letters and Arts, London, 1872. He died at Hastings, N.Y., June 22, 1900.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newington-Cropsey Foundation
Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823 – 1900)
1823 - 1841
Jasper Cropsey was born on his father’s farm in Rossville, Staten Island on February 18, 1823. As a young boy, Cropsey had recurring periods of poor health. During these periods, while absent from school, Cropsey taught himself to draw. His early drawings were architectural sketches and landscapes drawn on notepads and in the margins of his schoolbooks.
Cropsey Farm, Staten Island, 1843
His artistic skills improved rapidly as Jasper mimicked whatever paintings, drawings, and architectural renderings he could find. At the age of fourteen, Cropsey entered an architectural model in a contest and won a diploma from the 1837 Mechanics Institute of New York fair. Soon Jasper Cropsey began a five-year apprenticeship for Joseph Trench, architect. Trench realized young Jasper’s artistic ability and provided him with studio space and art supplies in order to develop his artistic skills. Jasper took advantage of Trench’s encouragement and sketched and painted whenever he could. Cropsey mostly painted landscapes, copied from engravings of Claude Lorrain and other landscape artists.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)
Viewing records 1-3 of 3 Matches
258582
Cropsey, Jasper F 1823-
Artists of the Nineteenth Century and Their Works. A handbook containing two thousand and fifty biographical sketches. Revised edition. Two volumes. By Clara Erskine Clement and Laurence Hutton. Boston: J.R. Osgood & Co., 1885. Reprint. Two volumes in one. St. Louis: North Point, 1969. (ArtsNiC)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
258583
Cropsey, Jasper F 1823-1900
Dictionary of American Art. By Matthew Baigell. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979. (DcAmArt)
The Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists, 1800-1914. By Simon Houfe. Woodbridge, England: Antique Collectors' Club, 1978. Biographies begin on page 215. (DcBrBI)
Early American Book Illustrators and Wood Engravers, 1670-1870. A catalogue of a collection of American books illustrated for the most part with woodcuts and wood engravings in the Princeton University Library. Volume I: Main Catalogue. By Sinclair Hamilton. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1958. (EarABI)
Who Was Who in American Art. Compiled from the original thirty-four volumes of "American Art Annual: Who's Who in Art, Biographies of American Artists Active from 1898-1947." Edited by Peter Hastings Falk. Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1985. (WhAmArt 85).