Jasper Francis Cropsey

Jasper Francis Cropsey was an American painter of the Hudson River School, famous above all for his blazing autumn scenes. Born in New York in 1823, he trained first as an architect, and that structural eye carried into his carefully built landscapes. He became known for brilliant depictions of American fall foliage, with hillsides glowing in reds, oranges, and golds.

While living in London he reportedly had to show pressed autumn leaves to convince skeptical Europeans that American trees really turned such vivid colors. Alongside his landscapes he continued to work as an architect. Cropsey's radiant autumn views capture a season central to the American landscape and remain his most celebrated achievement.