The Spirit of War

1851

Jasper Francis Cropsey

Artist, American, 1823 - 1900

A turreted, sprawling stone castle, bronzed by the setting sun, crowns a rocky cliff at the center of this horizontal landscape painting. A round turret rises in the center of the castle’s jumble of blocky, square buildings. The buildings are dramatically outlined against a mass of roiling charcoal-gray and indigo-blue clouds, which are edged in peach, in the upper right corner. Barely noticeable amid the hulking structure, a scarlet-red flag flutters from a window in the tower overlooking a distant crag to our right. On that distant mountain, a column of amber smoke rises to mingle with the clouds above a bright band of sunlight on the horizon. Low trees and bushes grow around the base of the battlements. The land dips steeply toward us to a river below the cliff. Through the tangle of trees, a dirt road winds down the hill to a bridge of pale stone that crosses the river in front of us, to our left of center. Groups of helmeted horsemen cross the bridge, passing under a stone archway at its center. Near the bridge, tiny in scale, a herd of goats capers on the road near the horsemen as they ride on in a double column coming toward us along the clay-brown road. One rider carries a red pennant fluttering in the breeze. The riders wear ruby-red tunics and carry upright lances and shields. Light glints off their armor and helmets as they head to our right, toward the dark mass of tangled trees and rocky cliff on the border of the picture. A copse of low, gnarled trees grows near the opposite edge of the painting, to our left. Behind these trees and riders stretches a river valley spanned by another stone bridge. A cluster of people can barely be seen near and along that massive bridge in the distance. Beyond, buildings and a tall, square tower are lit by fires belching clouds of smoke. A heavy bank of gray clouds obscures the rest of the valley. Birds soar in the mist near a distant cliff, where flames and more smoke rise behind a boulder. In the deep distance to our left, a high, craggy cliff topped by a sprinkling of snow surges above the blanket of fog and clouds. In front of a clear, blue sky, it is also bathed in coral-red by the setting sun.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

In The Spirit of War, a rugged mountain landscape provides the backdrop for a medieval wartime scene, all bathed in an eerie, fiery light: knights on horseback ride into battle, a distant settlement burns, and a mother and child cower on the ground. A medieval castle rises from the jagged rocks, its looming tower framed by gathering storm clouds that portend destruction. The artist himself described the fraught scene as "promising naught but the uncertain and gloomy future of warlike times." By contrast, its companion piece The Spirit of Peace (Philadelphia, Woodmere Art Museum), shows an Arcadian landscape with tiny figures engaged in various pastoral pursuits. The center of the composition is anchored by a circular temple containing symbols of peace. Clear skies, the soft light of sunset, and placid waters convey tranquility and prosperity. Praised for their narrative clarity and displaying Cropsey's fondness for detailed nature studies, the allegorical pair went on to become the most exhibited of his works.

The paintings' twinned themes of war and peace expressed as historical allegories would have had an immediate emotional significance for Cropsey's audience. The recent Mexican War (1846-1848) and the subsequent debate over whether the western territories would join the nation as free or slave states contributed to the strained national atmosphere in the decade preceding the Civil War. First shown as his New York studio, this allegorical pair were shown seven times between 1852 and 1857. In this carefully constructed tour de force the earnest young artist created a powerful and lasting image of the fear and hopelessness brought about by war, eerily foreshadowing the bloody conflict that would envelop his country in the following decade.

More information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I, pages 110-114, which is available as a free PDF at https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/american-paintings-19th-century-part-1.pdf

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 64

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Avalon Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 110.8 x 171.6 cm (43 5/8 x 67 9/16 in.)
    framed: 151.8 x 211.5 x 17.2 cm (59 3/4 x 83 1/4 x 6 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1978.12.1

More About this Artwork

Article:  Ten Artworks to Understand Early United States History

From the Native peoples lobbying to keep their homelands to immigrants facing challenges in their new home, works from our collection help us understand our nation’s beginnings.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Sale of Cropsey's work, New York, April 1856;[1] John Rutherford, New Jersey;[2] sold by May 1856 to Joseph Harrison, Jr. [1810-1874], Philadelphia; by inheritance to his wife, Sarah Poulterer Harrison [1817-1906], Philadelphia; her estate; (her estate sale, M. Thomas & Sons at Philadelphia Art Galleries, 12 March 1912 [postponed from 26 February], no. 8); Thomas E. Kinsey, Philadelphia.[3] Joseph T. Kinsley, Philadelphia, by April 1915; (sale, Hiram Parke New Galleries, New York, 15-16 March 1916, 2nd day, no. 175);[4] (J.G. Leroy, agent). (sale, Philadelphia Art Galleries, 7 February 1917, no. 1485).[5] (sale, Philadelphia Art Galleries, 29 May 1917, no. 767).[6] Sarah Clark Goodman, New York and Newport; (her sale, Plaza Art Rooms, Inc., New York, 13-15 November 1919, 3rd day, no. 499);[7] Herbert Kaufman. Adele Gardiner, Tarrytown, New York, 1929;[8] private collection, from 1929; acquired 1977 by (Vose Galleries, Boston); purchased 23 February 1978 by NGA.
[1] "Cropsey sale," Statten Islander, 12 April 1856.
[2] This was not the first painting by Cropsey to be purchased by Rutherford. Tuckerman, Book 1867, 535 lists a Jedburgh Abbey, painted by Cropsey in Rome, in the collection of "John Rutherford, Esq., of New Jersey."
[3] An annotated copy of the 1912 sale catalogue gives the name of the buyer of the Cropsey as Thomas E. Kingsley, as does a 13 March 1912 newspaper article from The North American inserted inside the cover of this copy of the catalogue. A search of Philadelphia city directories and the 1910 U.S. census for Philadelphia finds no Thomas Kingsley, but instead Thomas E. Kinsey, a superintendent with the Pullman Company. The same article indicates that he purchased "for his private collection" three paintings at the sale. Two of these paintings are indeed annotated in the sale catalogue with his name; however, the third is annotated with the name of Joseph T. Kinsley (see note 4).
[4] There was a 1915 sale in Philadelphia (14-16 April) of over 200 paintings in Joseph T. Kinsley's collection. The Spirit of War was no. 66 in this sale, but apparently it did not sell. The 1916 sale catalogue is titled Illustrated Catalogue of Valuable Paintings by Foreign and American Artists Belonging to Mr. Joseph T. Kinsley, Philadelphia...and Mr. William Hogencamp...Jersey City, N.J.. According to Philadelphia city directories from 1911 to 1916, Joseph T. Kinsley was the president and general manager of the Pennsylvania Taximeter & Cab Co. and the Bellevue-Stratford Garage, as well as a plumber, his occupation as given in the 1910 census for Philadelphia. The 1916 sale included over 100 paintings from his collection.
[5] Dr. Kenneth W. Maddox found the painting listed in this sale, which included objects from the estates of Charles I. Craigen of Philadelphia and Palm Beach, and Mrs. Louisa S. Clarke of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The catalogue does not identify the owner of individual lots.
[6] The reference to this sale in the 1917 American Art Annual describes it as "107 water colors and paintings belonging to the estates of Harriet W. Norriss, G. Hudson Mackuen, and several other estates." A copy of the catalogue has not yet been located.
[7] The 1919 sale was "The Sarah Clark Goodman Sale." This is the only documentation thus far of her ownership. The New York Times obituary notice of 13 April 1919 identifies Mrs. Goodman as the wife of the Rev. Frederic W. Goodman and "the inventor of the 'vibratone piano'."
[8] A letter of 26 February 1981 from Robert C. Vose, Jr. (in NGA curatorial files), states: "Apparently, this Gardiner also built a house in the Adirondacks, which was eventually purchased by the man from whom we got the Cropsey. He still wishes to be anonymous. Our source found the painting face to the wall in the barn."

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1852

  • Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design, New York, 1852, no. 48.

1853

  • The Washington Exhibition in Aid of the New-York Gallery of the Fine Arts, American Art-Union Gallery, New York, 1853, no. 58.

1854

  • Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1854, no. 326.

1855

  • Boston Atheneum, 1855, no cat.

1856

  • Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1856, no. 308; Fall 1856, no. 99.

1857

  • Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1857, no. 250.

1990

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, 1990.

1994

  • Jasper Francis Cropsey's "The Spirit of War" and "The Spirit of Peace", National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1994-1995, brochure, color repro. (detail on cover; inside cover).

1995

  • Focus Exhibition, The Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, 1995, no cat.

2000

  • Rave Reviews: American Art and Its Critics, 1826-1925, National Academy of Design, New York; Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa; Indianapolis Museum of Art, 2000-2001, no. 19, repro. (shown only in New York).

Bibliography

1851

  • "Fine Arts." Home Journal 2 (27 December 1851): 5.

  • "Fine Arts." Literary World (13 December 1851): 471.

  • "The Chronicle: Art and Artists in America." Bulletin of the American Art-Union (1 December 1851): 149.

1852

  • "Fine Arts." Home Journal 2 (8 May 1852): 6, 7.

  • "Fine Arts." New York Tribune (24 April 1852): 5.

  • "Fine Arts." New York Herald (7 February 1852).

  • "Fine Arts: The National Academy of Design." The Albion 2 (24 April/8 May 1852): 201.

1855

  • The Crayon (11 July 1855): 24.

1856

  • Home Journal 1 (26 January 1856): 1-4.

  • ["Cropsey sale."] Statten Islander (12 April 1856).

1867

  • Tuckerman 1867, 535-536.

1879

  • Sheldon, George William. American Painters. New York, 1879.

1968

  • Bermingham, Peter. Jasper F. Cropsey: A Retrospective View of America's Painter of Autumn. Exh. cat. University of Maryland, College Park, 1968: 13.

1970

  • Talbot, William S. Jasper F. Cropsey 1823-1900. Exh. cat. National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C., 1970: 28-29.

1977

  • Talbot, William S. Jasper F. Cropsey, 1823-1900. New York, 1977: 106-111, 365-367.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 141, repro.

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980: 11, 15, 19, no. 29, color repro.

1981

  • Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: 114-115, repro. 115.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 547, no. 823, color repro.

1987

  • Foshay, Ella M., and Barbara Finney. Jasper F. Cropsey, Artist and Architect. Exh. cat. New-York Historical Society, New York, 1987: 25.

1988

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 11, 18, 22, 110, no. 32, color repro.

1991

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 293, color repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 154, repro.

1993

  • Miller, Angela. The Empire of the Eye: Landscape Representation and American Cultural Politics, 1825-1875. Ithaca, New York, 1993: 68-69, 107, 122-123, 125.

1994

  • Kelly, Franklin. "American Landscape Pairs of the 1850s." Antiques 146 (November 1994): 650-657.

  • Kelly, Franklin. Jasper Francis Cropsey: The Spirit of War and the Spirit of Peace. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1994: fig. 1.

  • Kelly, Franklin. Thomas Cole's Paintings of Eden. Exh. cat. Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, 1994: 45, fig. 45.

1996

  • Kelly, Franklin, with Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., Deborah Chotner, and John Davis. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 110-114, color repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: J.F. Cropsey 1851

Wikidata ID

Q20188013

You may be interested in

Loading Results