Joseph Rusling Meeker (American, 1827-1887), A Louisiana Bayou

oil on canvas, 1880, signed and dated at lower left, unframed.
Stretcher size 18 x 14 in.
Joseph Rusling Meeker was born in New Jersey, but is most well known for his romantic and Edenesque landscapes of Louisiana bayous. He studied at the National Academy of Design, where he met his greatest mentor, Asher B. Durand. After graduating, he kept moving west - first to Buffalo, New York, then Louisville, Kentucky to teach at a local academy, and finally St. Louis, Missouri.

During the Civil War, he worked as a paymaster on a United States Navy gunboat in Louisiana. He kept a sketchbook while on board and captured many scenes and details that he later transformed into finished oil paintings in his St. Louis studio after the war.

Paintings by Meeker are found in numerous public collections including The Johnson Collection in South Carolina, Historic New Orleans Collection, St. Louis Art Museum, Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Brooklyn Museum.
Private Collection, Greensboro, North Carolina
Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.lelandlittle.com

Patch to verso with associated repaint visible under UV light; edge wear to canvas.