Kruseman V. Elten

Hendrik Dirk Kruseman Van Elten : Although he was born and raised in Holland and spent his final years in France, Kruseman van Elten was one of the first artists in America to bring the art of landscape etching to the forefront. He first studied art under C. Lieste, in Haarlem, and then finished his education in Amsterdam and Brussels. Kruseman van Elten first came to the United States in 1865 and settled in the artistic community of Ellenville, New York. Influenced by the etchings of the great seventeenth century Dutch masters, Kruseman van Elten was instrumental in introducing the landscape art of Rembrandt, van de Velde, Ruisdael and many others to American artists. His first American etching was published in 1876 and during the following years he produced many fine views, most notably of river scenes. Hendrik Dirk Kruseman van Elten was a founding member of the American Water-Color Society and the New York Etching Club (1877) and was also a full member of the British Society of Painter-Etchers. He was elected an Academician of the National Academy of Design in 1883. On the Housatonic is considered to be one of the artist's finest etchings. The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco includes an impression of this etching in its permanent collection.