American Falls, Niagara

American Falls, Niagara

Jasper Francis Cropsey

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This drawing is a detailed study of part of the American Falls of Niagara--Luna Fall. The artist’s point of view is a precarious perch that he labeled “Cropsey rock,” located at the base of Goat Island, which lies in the middle of the Niagara River and divides the stream into two separate waterfalls: the American Falls and the crescent-shaped Horseshoe, or Canadian, Falls. Addressing what was once one of the most popular subjects in American landscape art, Cropsey broad-brushed heavy layers of white gouache to convey the hurling foam of the cascade. Cropsey painted at least seven canvases of Niagara Falls. Of these, five share the viewpoint from “Cropsey rock.”

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.