Chicago River, North Branch

Born in Oswego, New York, John Francis Murphy moved with his family to Chicago in 1868. He studied at the Chicago Academy of Design for a short period. In 1875 he permanently relocated to New York and first exhibited at the National Academy of Design the following year. Murphy was one of the leading American landscape painters at the turn of the century. His early paintings show influence by the French Barbizon school, but his later, more well-known works are tonalist. The sketch Chicago River, North Branch is an early work by Murphy. It is also one of his few extant works from the Chicago area. In 1874, Murphy traveled from Chicago to the Adirondacks on his first major sketching trip. He returned only briefly to Chicago in 1875 to visit his family before removing to New York. This sketch of the Chicago River is dated October 24, 1875, which means it is one of the last works he created in Chicago. He also finished an oil painting in 1873 titled North Branch, Chicago River, indicating that he enjoyed returning to the scene as a young man.