In the years following the Civil War, the rural solitude of Cropsey’s native Staten Island gave way to rapid urban growth. At that time, the partially developed setting of the island remained a popular retreat for landscape painters, who regarded the view across the Narrows, the entrance to New York Harbor, as one of the most scenic vistas in the United States.

In this large-scale painting, Cropsey presents a lively parade of ships moving through the Narrows. An artist, possibly Cropsey himself, can be seen painting in the lower left amid a small group of onlookers. Some critics objected to Cropsey’s meticulously detailed rendering, feeling that it lacked compositional unity. But perhaps he hoped to convey more than scenic grandeur. The smokestack in the lower left is from a local munitions factory—a patriotic reminder of New York’s contributions to the Union war effort.

—Text taken from the Carter Handbook (2023).