1823–80, American painter, b. Greenfield, N.Y. A major painter of the American movement known as luminism, Gifford, who was influenced by Thomas Cole early in his career, was celebrated for his atmospheric landscapes. He grew up in Hudson, N.Y., and more than 150 of his paintings depict a Hudson River or Catskill Mtns. scene, e.g. the luminous A Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove) (1862). Gifford traveled extensively in Europe, Egypt, and the far west of the United States. Characteristic of his romantic panoramas is the shimmering Ruins of the Parthenon (1880; Corcoran Gall., Washington, D.C.).

See catalogues of his paintings in two retrospective exhibitions (Metropolitan Mus. of Art, 1881 and 2003).

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