View of Greenwood Lake, New Jersey

Jasper Francis Cropsey encouraged his fellow artists to experience nature firsthand, observe it closely, and depict it faithfully. For painters of the Hudson River School like Cropsey, sketching outdoors was central to their practice. During the summer, these artists left their urban studios and traveled in search of natural scenery to sketch. Cropsey made his first such trip in 1843 after completing an architecture apprenticeship, and the resulting painting helped establish his artistic career.