Landscape Artist.
Lived most of his life in Nanuet, NY..
Landscape and marine painter Albert Babb Insley was born in 1842, growing up in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was active early in the arts. At age fourteen in 1856, he received his first major painting commission of the Llewellyn Park Estate of D.C. Otis; and the same year he left school to become an apprentice photographer under his father, Henry Earle Insley, who was one of the earliest pioneer photographers in America. In 1860, at age 18, Insley made his first of many painting trips to the Green and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire and to the Shawangunk Mountains of New York.
Albert Babb Insley, 1842-1937, one of Rockland County’s most prolific resident artists, was one in the last generation of Hudson River Valley painters whose art was steeped in the palette and style of a romantic period “that was unified —not by place or even time —but rather by the optimism, the enthusiasm, the belief in some wondrously vital spirit within the American landscape.” Insley’s painting career spanned 83 years, from 1854 to 1937, and of his paintings, estimated at 3,500, approximately half are Rockland County scenes.
Born April 1, 1842, in Orange, N.J. to Henry Earle Insley, one of America’s pioneer photographers, and the former Sarah Ann Fletcher Babb, he was the second eldest of seven children. In 1844 the family moved to Jersey City. For two years, beginning in 1854, Insley was an apprentice in architecture to his uncle, George F. Babb. In 1856, at fourteen, his father had him leave school to begin an apprenticeship in photography at the Insley studios in New York City.
Insley’s father made a small fortune in photography from his portrait studios in New York and Jersey City and decided to invest in land to farm and develop. Early in the 1860’s the family relocated to Rockland County on a 35-acre farm in Nanuet on Middletown Road. Albert Insley and his older brother, Henry Aretas, remained in Jersey City and continued to operate the photographic gallery and art store at 67 Montgomery St., financed by their father. Less than two years later, young Insley left this partnership to dedicate his entire life to easel painting though photography remained a life-long avocation.
A direct result of his early and strict paternal training in photography is the sense that a great number of his paintings appear as though focused through the lens of a camera. Concerned for his son's ability to survive as an artist, Insley's father turned for advice to two of his friends, Samuel F. B. Morse and Jaspar F. Cropsey. Morse acknowledged young Insley's talent by hanging one of his paintings in the 1862 annual exhibition of the National Academy of Design. That same year, Morse was instrumental in securing an art instructor's position for him at the New York University Art Department on Waverly Place.
Disturbed by his son’s unwillingness to pursue formal art training, Insley’s father in the summer of 1864 sent him off to Greenwood Lake, N.Y. to study with Cropsey. He returned on Cropsey’s personal invitation the following summer.
---
Today, Albert Insley has taken his place as one of America's greatest landscape painters of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His somewhat shy and retiring nature led him to reject self-promotion. Twice (in 1869 and 1875) fellow artists put his name forward for nomination into the prestigious National Academy of Design, but on both occasions, he withdrew his name without comment. In 1870, Insley became a charter member of New York's influential Salmagundi Club, but resigned a year later. Yet his art was too fine to ignore and, from 1862, his paintings were frequently exhibited with both the New York Art Association and with the National Academy of Design, Washington.
At age twelve, Albert Babb Insley was making drawings for his uncle, an architect. He quit school at age fourteen and apprenticed in photography. Mainly self-taught, Insley's first paintings dated from 1860 and by 1862, he exhibited his first of many works at the National Academy of Design. He had been invited to do so by the influential painter and inventor, Samuel Morse. This was a major accomplishment for an artist of just twenty-two.
In the summers of 1864 and 1865, Albert Babb Insley took painting lessons from Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823 - 1900). Insley had long admired this master of the Hudson River School of painting. He was also invited to open a studio on 10th Street, in New York, and there became a close friend of such distinguished artists as James Craig Nicoll and J. Alden Weir.
In 1881, Albert Babb Insley joined an art class on pigment analysis taught by George Inness (1825-1894), one of the most revered of all Hudson River school painters. Like his association with Cropsey, however, Insley did not merely copy this great master. R. Blankenship writes, "A new style developed in Insley's work as a result of his study with George Inness. Insley's style became looser and freer and his palette lighter, yet his paintings did not become slavish imitations in the Inness manner. Insley began to arrange the components of his landscapes to make more effective use of contrasts in sunlight and shadow, and distance in near and far elements." (p32)*
During the 1880's and 1890's, Albert Insley's art reached its mature phase. His palette was dominated by subdued greens and browns, but within these colours and entire lyrical range was developed. Moreover, by 1890, he began spending more time at his family farm near Nanuet, New York. Most of his later art portrays the countryside around this locality.
Throughout his long life, Albert Insley's art was constantly changing. From 1905 to 1915, he was producing impressionistic works of much accomplishment. Even in his later years, he was always a master of poetic feeling in landscape. His genius was in his ability to make all his landscapes both intensely evocative and personal.
In Conclusion, Jay Cantor writes, "Insley's mature paintings are suffused with joy in observing the quiet moments of nature as they appeared in countless rambles throughout his neighbourhood around Nanuet, New York. Characteristically, he produced dozens of small-scale paintings rather than more formalized and ambitious canvases. These gems are rich with qualities of the momentary. He devotes his artistic life to a constant dialogue between a personal vision and a shared vocabulary of painterly ideas"
The Jersey Journal, describing the artist as “a genial, dapper, low voiced, pleasant spoken gentleman he is today with a shock of Mark Twain hair; eyes so keen that spectacles are unnecessary."
Lived most of his life in Nanuet, NY..
Landscape and marine painter Albert Babb Insley was born in 1842, growing up in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was active early in the arts. At age fourteen in 1856, he received his first major painting commission of the Llewellyn Park Estate of D.C. Otis; and the same year he left school to become an apprentice photographer under his father, Henry Earle Insley, who was one of the earliest pioneer photographers in America. In 1860, at age 18, Insley made his first of many painting trips to the Green and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire and to the Shawangunk Mountains of New York.
Albert Babb Insley, 1842-1937, one of Rockland County’s most prolific resident artists, was one in the last generation of Hudson River Valley painters whose art was steeped in the palette and style of a romantic period “that was unified —not by place or even time —but rather by the optimism, the enthusiasm, the belief in some wondrously vital spirit within the American landscape.” Insley’s painting career spanned 83 years, from 1854 to 1937, and of his paintings, estimated at 3,500, approximately half are Rockland County scenes.
Born April 1, 1842, in Orange, N.J. to Henry Earle Insley, one of America’s pioneer photographers, and the former Sarah Ann Fletcher Babb, he was the second eldest of seven children. In 1844 the family moved to Jersey City. For two years, beginning in 1854, Insley was an apprentice in architecture to his uncle, George F. Babb. In 1856, at fourteen, his father had him leave school to begin an apprenticeship in photography at the Insley studios in New York City.
Insley’s father made a small fortune in photography from his portrait studios in New York and Jersey City and decided to invest in land to farm and develop. Early in the 1860’s the family relocated to Rockland County on a 35-acre farm in Nanuet on Middletown Road. Albert Insley and his older brother, Henry Aretas, remained in Jersey City and continued to operate the photographic gallery and art store at 67 Montgomery St., financed by their father. Less than two years later, young Insley left this partnership to dedicate his entire life to easel painting though photography remained a life-long avocation.
A direct result of his early and strict paternal training in photography is the sense that a great number of his paintings appear as though focused through the lens of a camera. Concerned for his son's ability to survive as an artist, Insley's father turned for advice to two of his friends, Samuel F. B. Morse and Jaspar F. Cropsey. Morse acknowledged young Insley's talent by hanging one of his paintings in the 1862 annual exhibition of the National Academy of Design. That same year, Morse was instrumental in securing an art instructor's position for him at the New York University Art Department on Waverly Place.
Disturbed by his son’s unwillingness to pursue formal art training, Insley’s father in the summer of 1864 sent him off to Greenwood Lake, N.Y. to study with Cropsey. He returned on Cropsey’s personal invitation the following summer.
---
Today, Albert Insley has taken his place as one of America's greatest landscape painters of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His somewhat shy and retiring nature led him to reject self-promotion. Twice (in 1869 and 1875) fellow artists put his name forward for nomination into the prestigious National Academy of Design, but on both occasions, he withdrew his name without comment. In 1870, Insley became a charter member of New York's influential Salmagundi Club, but resigned a year later. Yet his art was too fine to ignore and, from 1862, his paintings were frequently exhibited with both the New York Art Association and with the National Academy of Design, Washington.
At age twelve, Albert Babb Insley was making drawings for his uncle, an architect. He quit school at age fourteen and apprenticed in photography. Mainly self-taught, Insley's first paintings dated from 1860 and by 1862, he exhibited his first of many works at the National Academy of Design. He had been invited to do so by the influential painter and inventor, Samuel Morse. This was a major accomplishment for an artist of just twenty-two.
In the summers of 1864 and 1865, Albert Babb Insley took painting lessons from Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823 - 1900). Insley had long admired this master of the Hudson River School of painting. He was also invited to open a studio on 10th Street, in New York, and there became a close friend of such distinguished artists as James Craig Nicoll and J. Alden Weir.
In 1881, Albert Babb Insley joined an art class on pigment analysis taught by George Inness (1825-1894), one of the most revered of all Hudson River school painters. Like his association with Cropsey, however, Insley did not merely copy this great master. R. Blankenship writes, "A new style developed in Insley's work as a result of his study with George Inness. Insley's style became looser and freer and his palette lighter, yet his paintings did not become slavish imitations in the Inness manner. Insley began to arrange the components of his landscapes to make more effective use of contrasts in sunlight and shadow, and distance in near and far elements." (p32)*
During the 1880's and 1890's, Albert Insley's art reached its mature phase. His palette was dominated by subdued greens and browns, but within these colours and entire lyrical range was developed. Moreover, by 1890, he began spending more time at his family farm near Nanuet, New York. Most of his later art portrays the countryside around this locality.
Throughout his long life, Albert Insley's art was constantly changing. From 1905 to 1915, he was producing impressionistic works of much accomplishment. Even in his later years, he was always a master of poetic feeling in landscape. His genius was in his ability to make all his landscapes both intensely evocative and personal.
In Conclusion, Jay Cantor writes, "Insley's mature paintings are suffused with joy in observing the quiet moments of nature as they appeared in countless rambles throughout his neighbourhood around Nanuet, New York. Characteristically, he produced dozens of small-scale paintings rather than more formalized and ambitious canvases. These gems are rich with qualities of the momentary. He devotes his artistic life to a constant dialogue between a personal vision and a shared vocabulary of painterly ideas"
The Jersey Journal, describing the artist as “a genial, dapper, low voiced, pleasant spoken gentleman he is today with a shock of Mark Twain hair; eyes so keen that spectacles are unnecessary."
Landscape Artist.
Lived most of his life in Nanuet, NY..
Landscape and marine painter Albert Babb Insley was born in 1842, growing up in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was active early in the arts. At age fourteen in 1856, he received his first major painting commission of the Llewellyn Park Estate of D.C. Otis; and the same year he left school to become an apprentice photographer under his father, Henry Earle Insley, who was one of the earliest pioneer photographers in America. In 1860, at age 18, Insley made his first of many painting trips to the Green and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire and to the Shawangunk Mountains of New York.
Albert Babb Insley, 1842-1937, one of Rockland County’s most prolific resident artists, was one in the last generation of Hudson River Valley painters whose art was steeped in the palette and style of a romantic period “that was unified —not by place or even time —but rather by the optimism, the enthusiasm, the belief in some wondrously vital spirit within the American landscape.” Insley’s painting career spanned 83 years, from 1854 to 1937, and of his paintings, estimated at 3,500, approximately half are Rockland County scenes.
Born April 1, 1842, in Orange, N.J. to Henry Earle Insley, one of America’s pioneer photographers, and the former Sarah Ann Fletcher Babb, he was the second eldest of seven children. In 1844 the family moved to Jersey City. For two years, beginning in 1854, Insley was an apprentice in architecture to his uncle, George F. Babb. In 1856, at fourteen, his father had him leave school to begin an apprenticeship in photography at the Insley studios in New York City.
Insley’s father made a small fortune in photography from his portrait studios in New York and Jersey City and decided to invest in land to farm and develop. Early in the 1860’s the family relocated to Rockland County on a 35-acre farm in Nanuet on Middletown Road. Albert Insley and his older brother, Henry Aretas, remained in Jersey City and continued to operate the photographic gallery and art store at 67 Montgomery St., financed by their father. Less than two years later, young Insley left this partnership to dedicate his entire life to easel painting though photography remained a life-long avocation.
A direct result of his early and strict paternal training in photography is the sense that a great number of his paintings appear as though focused through the lens of a camera. Concerned for his son's ability to survive as an artist, Insley's father turned for advice to two of his friends, Samuel F. B. Morse and Jaspar F. Cropsey. Morse acknowledged young Insley's talent by hanging one of his paintings in the 1862 annual exhibition of the National Academy of Design. That same year, Morse was instrumental in securing an art instructor's position for him at the New York University Art Department on Waverly Place.
Disturbed by his son’s unwillingness to pursue formal art training, Insley’s father in the summer of 1864 sent him off to Greenwood Lake, N.Y. to study with Cropsey. He returned on Cropsey’s personal invitation the following summer.
---
Today, Albert Insley has taken his place as one of America's greatest landscape painters of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His somewhat shy and retiring nature led him to reject self-promotion. Twice (in 1869 and 1875) fellow artists put his name forward for nomination into the prestigious National Academy of Design, but on both occasions, he withdrew his name without comment. In 1870, Insley became a charter member of New York's influential Salmagundi Club, but resigned a year later. Yet his art was too fine to ignore and, from 1862, his paintings were frequently exhibited with both the New York Art Association and with the National Academy of Design, Washington.
At age twelve, Albert Babb Insley was making drawings for his uncle, an architect. He quit school at age fourteen and apprenticed in photography. Mainly self-taught, Insley's first paintings dated from 1860 and by 1862, he exhibited his first of many works at the National Academy of Design. He had been invited to do so by the influential painter and inventor, Samuel Morse. This was a major accomplishment for an artist of just twenty-two.
In the summers of 1864 and 1865, Albert Babb Insley took painting lessons from Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823 - 1900). Insley had long admired this master of the Hudson River School of painting. He was also invited to open a studio on 10th Street, in New York, and there became a close friend of such distinguished artists as James Craig Nicoll and J. Alden Weir.
In 1881, Albert Babb Insley joined an art class on pigment analysis taught by George Inness (1825-1894), one of the most revered of all Hudson River school painters. Like his association with Cropsey, however, Insley did not merely copy this great master. R. Blankenship writes, "A new style developed in Insley's work as a result of his study with George Inness. Insley's style became looser and freer and his palette lighter, yet his paintings did not become slavish imitations in the Inness manner. Insley began to arrange the components of his landscapes to make more effective use of contrasts in sunlight and shadow, and distance in near and far elements." (p32)*
During the 1880's and 1890's, Albert Insley's art reached its mature phase. His palette was dominated by subdued greens and browns, but within these colours and entire lyrical range was developed. Moreover, by 1890, he began spending more time at his family farm near Nanuet, New York. Most of his later art portrays the countryside around this locality.
Throughout his long life, Albert Insley's art was constantly changing. From 1905 to 1915, he was producing impressionistic works of much accomplishment. Even in his later years, he was always a master of poetic feeling in landscape. His genius was in his ability to make all his landscapes both intensely evocative and personal.
In Conclusion, Jay Cantor writes, "Insley's mature paintings are suffused with joy in observing the quiet moments of nature as they appeared in countless rambles throughout his neighbourhood around Nanuet, New York. Characteristically, he produced dozens of small-scale paintings rather than more formalized and ambitious canvases. These gems are rich with qualities of the momentary. He devotes his artistic life to a constant dialogue between a personal vision and a shared vocabulary of painterly ideas"
The Jersey Journal, describing the artist as “a genial, dapper, low voiced, pleasant spoken gentleman he is today with a shock of Mark Twain hair; eyes so keen that spectacles are unnecessary."
Lived most of his life in Nanuet, NY..
Landscape and marine painter Albert Babb Insley was born in 1842, growing up in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was active early in the arts. At age fourteen in 1856, he received his first major painting commission of the Llewellyn Park Estate of D.C. Otis; and the same year he left school to become an apprentice photographer under his father, Henry Earle Insley, who was one of the earliest pioneer photographers in America. In 1860, at age 18, Insley made his first of many painting trips to the Green and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire and to the Shawangunk Mountains of New York.
Albert Babb Insley, 1842-1937, one of Rockland County’s most prolific resident artists, was one in the last generation of Hudson River Valley painters whose art was steeped in the palette and style of a romantic period “that was unified —not by place or even time —but rather by the optimism, the enthusiasm, the belief in some wondrously vital spirit within the American landscape.” Insley’s painting career spanned 83 years, from 1854 to 1937, and of his paintings, estimated at 3,500, approximately half are Rockland County scenes.
Born April 1, 1842, in Orange, N.J. to Henry Earle Insley, one of America’s pioneer photographers, and the former Sarah Ann Fletcher Babb, he was the second eldest of seven children. In 1844 the family moved to Jersey City. For two years, beginning in 1854, Insley was an apprentice in architecture to his uncle, George F. Babb. In 1856, at fourteen, his father had him leave school to begin an apprenticeship in photography at the Insley studios in New York City.
Insley’s father made a small fortune in photography from his portrait studios in New York and Jersey City and decided to invest in land to farm and develop. Early in the 1860’s the family relocated to Rockland County on a 35-acre farm in Nanuet on Middletown Road. Albert Insley and his older brother, Henry Aretas, remained in Jersey City and continued to operate the photographic gallery and art store at 67 Montgomery St., financed by their father. Less than two years later, young Insley left this partnership to dedicate his entire life to easel painting though photography remained a life-long avocation.
A direct result of his early and strict paternal training in photography is the sense that a great number of his paintings appear as though focused through the lens of a camera. Concerned for his son's ability to survive as an artist, Insley's father turned for advice to two of his friends, Samuel F. B. Morse and Jaspar F. Cropsey. Morse acknowledged young Insley's talent by hanging one of his paintings in the 1862 annual exhibition of the National Academy of Design. That same year, Morse was instrumental in securing an art instructor's position for him at the New York University Art Department on Waverly Place.
Disturbed by his son’s unwillingness to pursue formal art training, Insley’s father in the summer of 1864 sent him off to Greenwood Lake, N.Y. to study with Cropsey. He returned on Cropsey’s personal invitation the following summer.
---
Today, Albert Insley has taken his place as one of America's greatest landscape painters of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His somewhat shy and retiring nature led him to reject self-promotion. Twice (in 1869 and 1875) fellow artists put his name forward for nomination into the prestigious National Academy of Design, but on both occasions, he withdrew his name without comment. In 1870, Insley became a charter member of New York's influential Salmagundi Club, but resigned a year later. Yet his art was too fine to ignore and, from 1862, his paintings were frequently exhibited with both the New York Art Association and with the National Academy of Design, Washington.
At age twelve, Albert Babb Insley was making drawings for his uncle, an architect. He quit school at age fourteen and apprenticed in photography. Mainly self-taught, Insley's first paintings dated from 1860 and by 1862, he exhibited his first of many works at the National Academy of Design. He had been invited to do so by the influential painter and inventor, Samuel Morse. This was a major accomplishment for an artist of just twenty-two.
In the summers of 1864 and 1865, Albert Babb Insley took painting lessons from Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823 - 1900). Insley had long admired this master of the Hudson River School of painting. He was also invited to open a studio on 10th Street, in New York, and there became a close friend of such distinguished artists as James Craig Nicoll and J. Alden Weir.
In 1881, Albert Babb Insley joined an art class on pigment analysis taught by George Inness (1825-1894), one of the most revered of all Hudson River school painters. Like his association with Cropsey, however, Insley did not merely copy this great master. R. Blankenship writes, "A new style developed in Insley's work as a result of his study with George Inness. Insley's style became looser and freer and his palette lighter, yet his paintings did not become slavish imitations in the Inness manner. Insley began to arrange the components of his landscapes to make more effective use of contrasts in sunlight and shadow, and distance in near and far elements." (p32)*
During the 1880's and 1890's, Albert Insley's art reached its mature phase. His palette was dominated by subdued greens and browns, but within these colours and entire lyrical range was developed. Moreover, by 1890, he began spending more time at his family farm near Nanuet, New York. Most of his later art portrays the countryside around this locality.
Throughout his long life, Albert Insley's art was constantly changing. From 1905 to 1915, he was producing impressionistic works of much accomplishment. Even in his later years, he was always a master of poetic feeling in landscape. His genius was in his ability to make all his landscapes both intensely evocative and personal.
In Conclusion, Jay Cantor writes, "Insley's mature paintings are suffused with joy in observing the quiet moments of nature as they appeared in countless rambles throughout his neighbourhood around Nanuet, New York. Characteristically, he produced dozens of small-scale paintings rather than more formalized and ambitious canvases. These gems are rich with qualities of the momentary. He devotes his artistic life to a constant dialogue between a personal vision and a shared vocabulary of painterly ideas"
The Jersey Journal, describing the artist as “a genial, dapper, low voiced, pleasant spoken gentleman he is today with a shock of Mark Twain hair; eyes so keen that spectacles are unnecessary."
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