John William Casilear
“View of Switzerland”
Circa 1857/58

Name: “View of Switzerland”
Brand: John William Casilear
Price: 2800 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Beautiful oil on fiberboard painting of a view of Switzerland done by the American artist, John William Casilear. Signed with monogram lower left. Condition is excellent. Circa 1857/1858. The painting is housed in a contemporary frame. Overall framed measurements are 6 5/8 by 8 5/8 inches. lProvenance: Long Island, New York collector. Biography John William Casilear was born in New York City on June 25, 1811. Like his fellow Hudson River School landscapists Asher B. Durand and John F. Kensett, he worked as an engraver before turning to painting. In 1826 Casilear was apprenticed to the engraver Peter Maverick (1780-1831), and at first he primarily executed bank notes. Durand encouraged him to attempt other subjects, however, and during the 1830s he madeengravings after some of the most prominent paintings of the day, including Daniel Huntington's The Sybil (New-York Historical Society). In 1832 he began submitting engravings to the National Academy of Design exhibition and he first showed paintings there in 1836. In 1833 Casilear was elected an Associate of the Academy; he was elevated to full Academician status in 1851. In 1840 Casilear accompanied Durand, Kensett, and another painter, Thomas P. Rossiter (1818-1871), on a trip to Europe. There the artists studied and copied paintings by the Old Master, especially Claude Lorrain (1600-1682), and made sketches from nature. When he returned to New York in 1843 Casilear resumed his career as an engraver. By 1854 he was able to open his own studio in New York and begin painting landscapes fulltime. Casilear's paintings enjoyed great popularity in his day and were purchased by some of the leading collectors of the period, including Marshall O. Roberts, Robert L. Stuart, and Robert M. Olyphant. In June of 1857 Casilear went abroad again, where he spent two summers sketching, mainly in Switzerland. Through the 1860s and 1870s he continued to travel, regularly revisiting favorite sites in the northeast, but also making a trip to the west in 1873. He painted into the early 1890s, and died in Saratoga, New York, on August 17, 1893. [

Creator:

John William Casilear (1811-1893, American)

Creation Year:

Circa 1857/58

Dimensions:

Height: 4.9 in (12.45 cm)Width: 6.8 in (17.28 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)

Medium:

Fiberboard,Oil

Movement & Style:

Academic

Period:

1850-1859