John Kensett
Birth Date: March 22, 1816
Death Date: December 14, 1872
Artist Gallery
“Esopus Creek” is a tributary of the Hudson River, and John Frederick Kensett remains one of the best known and most successful second generation artists from the Hudson River School, The Hudson River School was a large, loosely-knit group of artist who painted landscapes in New York State, New England and the far West Between 1825 – 1875. A major figure in the American luminous tradition, one of the most renowned painters of the Civil War era, John Frederick Kensett was born in Connecticut in 1816. His father trained Kensett as an engraver and it was in his father’s firm that Kensett first learned to draw. Throughout the 1830s, Kensett worked as an engraver in a number of print shops while painting on his own. In 1838, he submitted his first landscape to the National Academy of Design. By 1840, wanting to continue his training, Kensett traveled to Europe in the company of artists, including Asher B. Durand. Kensett stayed for seven years and supported himself by doing engraving and becoming an accomplished landscape painter. Returning to New York in 1847, Kensett’s career began to flourish. His stylistic approach had its basis in the classical, topographically detailed landscapes of the first generation Hudson River School. But unlike Thomas Cole and others, he rarely included human figures in his paintings. By the 1860s, Kensett took a greater interest in the effects of light, air and atmosphere. The hallmark of his style is small, precise detail with clear, well-ordered compositions. A prolific and popular artist, Kensett was an active participant in the local and national art scene. In 1870 he became one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of New York. A friendly easy going man, Kensett was known to be even-tempered and was gifted with the capacity to form deep, lasting friendships. A generous, self-sacrificing man, he died of pneumonia after diving into icy December waters to recover the body of a drowned friend.