Jedburgh Abbey (from Cropsey Album) 1847

Jasper Francis Cropsey created this graphite and gray wash drawing of Jedburgh Abbey, likely during one of his travels to Europe in the mid-19th century. It presents the ruined abbey as a picturesque subject, evoking themes of history, memory, and the sublime. Cropsey, an American landscape painter associated with the Hudson River School, often depicted nature as a reflection of divine presence and national identity. Here, he turns his eye to European ruins, participating in a broader cultural interest in historical sites that grew with increasing tourism and the rise of Romanticism. The choice of a ruined abbey speaks to the period's fascination with the medieval past, often idealized as a time of deep faith and social harmony. It also reflects a nostalgia for what was lost to the ravages of time and the forces of modernity, an idea which resonates across both sides of the Atlantic. To understand this work more fully, historians might look at travel accounts, architectural studies, and period writings on aesthetics, all of which can reveal the complex meanings attached to such images.