Description:
Oil on board by John Gadsby Chapman (December 3, 1808 – November 28, 1889). Inscribed verso "Peyton Falls, Alleghany (sic, by today's standards, now called Falling Spring Falls ) County, Virginia, Painted by John G. Chapman, American Artist, 135 via del Babaino, Rome, 1863”. Later inscribed “John L.(Lewis) Peyton from ?? Peyton”. Source art for the engraving of the same work that appeared in the London Times in 1864. This work descended in the Peyton family to the present consignor.
John L. Peyton had a home facing Peyton Falls now called Falling Spring Falls. An account from his book states that he was expecting to spend the summer of 1861 at his home there but the Civil War would interrupt his expected respite. Later that same year he would travel aboard the Confederate 'Nashville' to London where he remained until later living on the Isle of Guernsey. This painting was likely the result of his commissioning the artist to portray his beloved Peyton Falls.
Artist's Colourman label of Charles Roberson & Co. 99 Long Acre, London remains on the verso and establishes this painting by Chapman with the Peyton stay in London.
Peyton Falls, in Virginia,br>The Illustrated London News, vol. 45, no. 1291, p. 575. December 10, 1864PEYTON FALLS, IN VIRGINIA.We have engraved on another page a sketch, by an amateur artist (he was already by this time a member of the National Academy in New York of Peyton Falls, in the Alleghany [sic] Allegheny Mountains, Western Virginia. This romantic and beautiful cascade is on the Falling Spring, a brook tributary to Jackson's River. It is situated in the district or township which was once known as West Augusta, a place remarkable for the courage and patriotism of its inhabitants. This is the place to which Washington referred when he said, in the darkest days of the American Revolution, "Give me but a banner, and I will plant it upon the mountains of West Augusta, and rally around me the men who will raise our bleeding country from the dust and set her free!" Stonewall Jackson, the hero of the present unhappy civil war, as well as many officers of his immortal brigade, was a native of this district. It was near Peyton Falls, indeed, that one of the first battles of the civil war occurred--that of Rich Mountain, in which fell General R. S. Garnett.

Material:
oil on board

Maker/Artist:
John G. Chapman

Date:
1863

Provenance:
Peyton Family

Size of Artwork:
H 12 x W. 8"

Weight (LBS)
3

Condition:
Some restoration to the corners of the board verso, (see images) with corresponding in-paint to the obverse, less than 1 square inch total. Other extremely minor touches in the sky.

History:
Life and careerJohn Chapman was born in 1808 in Alexandria, Virginia. Chapman began his study of art in Philadelphia for two years, then departed for Europe where he eventually spent time in Italy. In 1831, Chapman returned to his hometown of Alexandria, and exhibited his artwork in the nearest metropolitan areas, such as Washington, D.C., Richmond, and Philadelphia. He specialized in landscapes and portraits.By 1834, Chapman had moved to New York City and become a member of the National Academy of Design, and found work as an illustrator. In New York, Chapman embarked on a series of historic paintings, such as Landing at Jamestown and the 'Crowning of Powhatan. The success of these paintings helped Chapman land a commission from the United States Congress in February 1837 to paint a historical scene for the rotunda of the Capitol building. For this work, Chapman received a total payment of $10,000. On November 30, 1840, The Baptism of Pocahontas was formally unveiled in the Capitol rotunda.On the swell of this success, Chapman moved his family to Rome, and made an earnest living selling paintings of rural Campagna to American visitors. However, at the onset of the American Civil War, the tourist industry dried up, affecting Chapman's fortunes greatly. In addition, Chapman's own son, Conrad Wise Chapman, returned to America to fight on the side of the Confederate States of America.The economic deprivation inflicted on Chapman during the 1860s became insurmountable. In Rome, he was forced to live off the kindness of fellow expatriates, and finally returned to America, sick and poor, to spend his last days with another son, John Linton Chapman, in Brooklyn, New York. It was there, in 1889, that he died a pauper.