The Valley of Wyoming

Jasper Francis Cropsey

1865 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

This large studio work was commissioned in 1864 by Milton Courtright (1810 - 1883). Courtright was born and raised on his family's farm in the heart of the Wyoming Valley. In his account book, Cropsey recorded a payment of $125 from Courtright on August 4, 1864, and three additional payments in January, March, and May 1865, totaling $3, 500. On August 8, Cropsey made at least two preparatory drawings of the site (now in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). One of these served as the basis for the oil sketch for this painting (see 25.110.63). This final version of the picture was shown at the National Academy of Design in New York in 1865. It retains an original frame and plaque with a poem written in 1809 by the Scottish poet Thomas Campbell.

Artist

Jasper Francis Cropsey

Date

1865

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. John C. Newington, 1966