John William Casilear (June 25, 1811 – August 17, 1893) was an American landscape artist belonging to the
Hudson River School.
Casilear was born in New York City. His first professional training was under prominent New York engraver Peter Maverick in the 1820s, then with
Asher Durand
Asher Brown Durand (August 21, 1796, – September 17, 1886) was an American painter of the Hudson River School.
Early life
Durand was born in, and eventually died in, Maplewood, New Jersey (then called Jefferson Village). He was the eighth ...
, himself an engraver at the time. Casilear and Durand became friends, and both worked as engravers in New York through the 1830s.
By the middle 1830s Durand had become interested in landscape painting through his friendship with
Thomas Cole. Durand, in turn, drew Casilear's attention to painting. By 1840, Casilear's interest in art was sufficiently strong to accompany Durand,
John Frederick Kensett
John Frederick Kensett (March 22, 1816 – December 14, 1872) was an American
landscape painter and engraver born in Cheshire, Connecticut. He was a member of the second generation of the Hudson River School of artists. Kensett's signature works ...
, and artist
Thomas Prichard Rossiter
Thomas Prichard Rossiter (1818–1871) was an American artist born in New Haven, Connecticut. Known for his portraits and paintings of historical scenes, he later came to be associated with the Hudson River School of artists.
Life and career
...
on a European trip during which they sketched scenes, visited art museums, and fostered their interest in painting.
Casilear gradually developed his talent in landscape art, painting in the style that was later to become known as the Hudson River School. By the middle 1850s he had entirely ceased his engraving career in favor of painting full-time. He was elected a full member of the
National Academy of Design in 1851, having been an associate member since 1833, and exhibited his works there for over fifty years.
Casilear died in
Saratoga Springs, New York in 1893. Today examples of his art are in the collections of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
, Washington DC, and
Ringwood Manor, Ringwood, NJ. And the Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA.
External links
American paradise: the world of the Hudson River school an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Casilear (see index)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casilear, John William
1811 births
1893 deaths
American landscape painters
19th-century American painters
American male painters
Hudson River School painters
19th-century American male artists