Jasper Francis Cropsey

Alexander Gallery, New York (acquired by 1979)

Richard and Gloria Manney, Irvington, New York (acquired in 1979)

Alexander Gallery, New York

Acquired from the above in December 1987 by the present owner

Kenneth W. Maddox and Anthony M. Speiser, Jasper Francis Cropsey: Catalogue Raisonné, Works in Oil, 1864-1884, vol. II, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York 2016, no. 1069, p. 119, illustrated in color

Sunset at Sea (Dorset Coast) depicts the south English shore along the English Channel. Although born and principally based in New York, Jasper Francis Cropsey visited England on several occasions throughout his lifetime. He first traveled abroad in 1847, extending his trip to Italy as well where a colony of American artists resided in Rome at the time. From 1856 to 1863, Cropsey settled in London where his landscape paintings received much acclaim. Upon returning to America, he resided in Warwick, New York where he built a twenty-nine room mansion near Greenwood Lake. The present painting, Sunset at Sea, was executed back in his New York studio and recalls Cropsey's earlier experience at the idyllic Dorset Coast. Epitomizing his affinity for warm landscapes drenched in sunlight, this subject captures Cropsey's Hudson River School spirit through an international scene.