CORNELIUS DAVID KRIEGHOFF
(1815 - 1872)

Cornelius David Krieghoff was born on June 19, 1815, in Amsterdam, Holland. Young Cornelius received a good education at the Düsseldorf Academy, which at that time had some of the world's most brilliant art teachers. Cornelius emigrated to the North American continent, landing in New York, in approximately 1836. He met his wife Émilie in New York. Young Krieghoff spent his first years in the American Army. Krieghoff was discharged from the Army in 1840, the year that his wife gave birth to their son. A year later the child died, and this created a great deal of heartache in the Krieghoff family.

Cornelius was ambitious for success. European study and travel were regarded as the keys to fame for an aspiring artist of that time. Therefore, it was not surprising that Krieghoff travelled to Europe to work. He painted at the Louvre in Paris, during October, 1844. He returned to Montreal, during 1845, and thereafter was considered a painter of Canada. During the period of 1846-1853, in Longueuil and Montreal, Krieghoff painted portraits and landscapes. Also, Krieghoff revived the theme of the habitant homes in Canadian paintings. He was a hard working artist and thought to be Quebec's most creative painter of his time. Following a prosperous career, Cornelius died on March 8, 1872, in Chicago.

Settler's Log House (1856)




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