1823 - 1880. Sanford Robinson Gifford, born in 1823, studied at Brown University with John Rubens form 1842-44. He was trained in the Hudson River School style. Gifford began as a portraits but turned to landscapes after 1843 when he went on a sketching tour of the Catskill and Bershire Mountains. His luminist stlye highlighted subtle but dramatic lighting in pure landscapes which were free of the more more traditional historical, literal or allegorical references. Gifford’s style matured with minute detail in overall atmosphere achieved through veiled tones and multiple layers of varnish. Gifford was able to meet the great art critic John Ruskin while taveling in Europe. He also took two trips out west in 1870 and 1974. In 1858 he became an original member of the 10th Street Studio building. Gifford died in 1880.