John Frederick Kensett

John Frederick Kensett was one of the foremost artists of the Hudson River School, a group of mid-1800s New York City landscape painters who headed north to complete majestic paintings that contrasted the industrializing city. Born in Connecticut, Kensett studied in Europe from 1840 to 1847 before settling in New York permanently. Although all Hudson River School painters strived to create the illusion that their canvases are lit from within, Kensett is generally considered the Hudson River master of achieving Renaissance-like luminousness in his paintings. Kensett traveled along the East Coast, to Rhode Island, the Catskills, Niagara Falls, and New Jersey. His images of picturesque seaside resort towns made him the most money, as New Yorkers with second homes bought the paintings to maintain summertime feelings year-round. Nonetheless, Kensett’s oeuvre generally adheres to the Hudson River sentiment that nature’s magical appearances bring us close to the divine.