Wickham Pond and Sugar Loaf Mountain, Orange County

At the height of his career, Jasper Cropsey purchased forty-five acres of land near Greenwood Lake in Warwick, New York, where he designed and built a mansion he called Aladdin. Named “Noonantum” by the Indians, meaning “hill of joy” or “beautiful view,” Cropsey’s property provided sweeping views of the countryside; a contemporary writer labeled this land among the most “Arcadian regions of the United States.” The artist and his family spent summers at Aladdin from 1869 until 1884, when he sold the property due to financial difficulties. This composition combines understated lighting effects with precise rendering of the topography. Wickham Pond, situated outside Warwick, is in the foreground with the surrounding peaks of Mounts Adam and Eve, Bellvale Mountain, and Sugar Loaf Mountain visible in the distance.