Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880)

Biography

Gifford – Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880)

Father: Elihu Robinson Gifford (1796-1889) – The Hudson Foundry and Machine Shop et al and first President of The Farmers’ Bank, Hudson, New York Mother: Eliza Robinson Starbuck (1800-1882) Birth Date: July 10, 1823 Born at: Greenfield, New York

Significant Education: Hudson Academy 1842-1844: Attended Brown University 1845: To New York to study art. Studied drawing, perspective and anatomy under the direction of the British watercolorist and drawing- master, John R. Smith. Studied in anatomy classes at the Crosby Street Medical college Drawing classes at the National Academy of Design

Spouse Name: Mary Cecelia (Unknown) Canfield (1824-1887) – widow of Mr. Canfield, an old school friend of Sandford’s. Wedding Date: June 1877 Wedding Place: New York City

Occupation: Artist – painter 1851: Elected associate at the National Academy of Design 1854: Elected academician at the National Academy of Design 1861-1863: Corporal in the 7th Regiment, New York Militia, Union Army 1870: A founder of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1880: Memorial exhibition of the 160 paintings of Sanford Robinson Gifford - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Childhood Home: Diamond (now Columbia) and Sixth Streets, Hudson, New York City

Studio: Studio Number 19 in the 51 West Tenth Street Studio Building, New York City.

Home: 1880: 1271 Broadway, New York City

Death Date: August 29, 1880 - of malarial fever and pneumonia. Death Place: New York City Cemetery: Hudson City Cemetery, Hudson, New York

Sanford was an American landscape painter - leading member of the Hudson River School – known for Luminism. He is known to have completed over 700 paintings. One of the paintings sold after his death was “Cliffs at Porcupine Island, Mount Desert” sold at an auction after his death for $130.

Paintings in these museum collections among many others: Art Institute of Chicago Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. National Gallery of Art North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh Toledo Museum of Art Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut

See: "Sanford Robinson Gifford papers, 1840s-1900, circa 1960s-1970s, bulk 1855-1881," Online, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

See: Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford, by Kevin J. Avery and Franklin Kelly, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003.