Autumn Lake Scene

Provenance

Private collection, Connecticut
Private collection, acquired from the above, 1999
Sale, Bonham’s, New York, New York, November 18, 2025, lot 47

Related Works

Greenwood Lake, 1875, oil on canvas mounted on Masonite, 30⅛ x 55¾ inches; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.

Autumn Landscape with View of a River, 1870, oil on canvas, 18 x 36 inches, signed lower left: J.F.C.; Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Maryland.

Note

While autumnal scenes are traditionally associated with the transience of life, Cropsey’s paintings of this season are more about a celebration of American nationalism. He believed that the North American landscape looked its most magnificent at that season, showcasing national identity and natural beauty, deeming autumn a “joyful crowning festival.”[1] Cropsey’s paintings are held in the most esteemed museum collections across the United States including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and many others.

[1] Linda Ferber, “Nature’s Nation: The Hudson River School and American Landscape Painting, 1825–1876.” American History in Visual Art, no. 45 (Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, Summer 2016).