Cranch, Christopher Pearce (1813-1892).

Untitled by Christopher Pearce Cranch (1813-1892) 12" x 18", Oil/Canvas, Signed Initials Est.: $3,000 - $5,000 Sold by John Moran Auctioneers for $7,700 on 02/17/2004 ARTIST WORLD RECORD

Christopher Pearse Cranch was a landscape, still life, and portrait painter who studied at Harvard. Following he went into the Unitarian ministry, and served in congregations in Maine, Richmond, Washington, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Boston.

He eventually gave up the ministry and after 1840 he had dedicated himself to painting. He spent a couple of years in New York City, then in 1846 he left for Italy with his wife. They returned to New York City in 1849, but from 1853 to 1863 they lived in Paris. From 1863 to 1873 Cranch lived on Staten Island, NY and from 1873 until his death he stayed in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He was the younger brother of the portrait painter, John Cranch

Source:
Groce & Wallace, "The New York Historical Society's Dictionary of Artists in America"
Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"