Page created on : August 10, 2004
Last updated : March 17, 2005

The Artist at Niagara, 1858 captures the nineteenth-century reverence for the grandeur of Niagara Falls – innocent of its twentieth-century evolution into a source of hydroelectric power. The “artist” of the title is the small figure sketching in the foreground, as seen on the OFDC.

Like the identity of the artist figure in the painting, the exact details of the life of Cornelius Krieghoff are elusive. He was born in Amsterdam and came to North America in his late teens or early twenties, settling in Montreal around 1846. The last two decades of his life were spent in Quebec City, Europe and Chicago.

Today, the impact of Krieghoff’s work is being debated. However, according to Charles C. Hill, Curator of Canadian Art at the National Gallery, “Krieghoff was the first Canadian artist to interpret in oils… the splendour of our waterfalls, and the hardships and daily life of people living on the edges of new frontiers.”

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Links about Cornelius Krieghoff


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