Autumn - On the Hudson River

Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900) was America's most celebrated painter of autumn landscapes, and Autumn - On the Hudson River is his signature subject rendered at the peak of his powers. The Hudson River, with its dramatic palisades, rolling hills, and brilliant fall foliage, provided Cropsey with the ideal setting for his artistic thesis: that American autumn scenery was superior to anything Europe could offer. The painting's chromatic intensity—the blazing reds, oranges, and golds of the fall foliage set against the blue sky and river—was Cropsey's answer to European critics who claimed that American scenery was monotonous and uninteresting.

Autumn - On the Hudson River was one of the most controversial paintings of the 1860s because of its intense color. European critics and some American viewers found the scarlet and gold foliage unbelievably vivid, accusing Cropsey of exaggerating nature. In response, Cropsey mounted dried autumn leaves next to his painting to prove that his colors were accurate—a gesture that became part of the painting's legend and a statement of American artistic independence from European taste.

Autumn - On the Hudson River is Cropsey's manifesto: American autumn is not monotonous but spectacular, and the Hudson Valley is nature's masterpiece. The controversy over the painting's 'exaggerated' colors—and Cropsey's response of mounting real leaves next to it—is the founding legend of American landscape painting's independence from European judgment.