Jasper Francis Cropsey devoted himself entirely to landscape painting in 1845. The romanticized views of nature and Cropsey's bold and colorful skies link him with the works of Thomas Cole and Asher B. Durand, as well as the second-generation Hudson River School painter, Frederic Edwin Church.

Cropsey's favorite spot for communing with nature was Greenwood Lake, New Jersey. Cropsey's portrayal of Greenwood Lake is exhibited in Twilight on Greenwood Lake, New Jersey, 1874. The pink and yellow sky is reflected beautifully into the lake below. Cropsey wasn't merely documenting the lake scene at sunset; he was creating an image of the communion he experienced in viewing his natural environment. This communion and a deeply held belief relates to the American societal ideas during the late nineteenth century expressed by clergyman, poets, writers, and artists who all sought after the emblematic qualities of America as a pristine and revered paradise.