Christopher pearse cranch biography of christopher

American writer and artist (1813–1892)

Christopher Pearse Cranch (March 8, 1813 – January 20, 1892) was an American writer and artist often associated with Transcendentalism and the Hudson River School.

Biography

Cranch was born March 8, 1813, in Alexandria, Virginia.^[1] His conservative father, William Cranch, was Chief Judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.^[2] Cranch was the youngest of 13 siblings,^[1] including his brother John who would go on to become a painter.^[3]

He graduated from Columbian College (now George Washington University) in 1835 before attending Harvard Divinity School and becoming a licensed preacher.^[4] During his years at Harvard, he came in contact with people like John Sullivan Dwight and Theodore Parker, through whom he was introduced to Unitarianism.^[1] He traveled as a Unitarian minister, preaching in Providence, Andover, Richmon