An associate of the Hudson River School painters, Bellows was also part of the first etching movement in the United States. Initially active as an architect, Bellows turned to painting by 1850. He taught in Boston and traveled through Europe before settling in New York in 1858, where he became friendly with the painters of the Hudson River School. Bellows did not limit himself to oil paint and kept a separate studio for watercolor. He was an early member of the American Watercolor Society. He turned to etching with enthusiasm late in his career, becoming a member of the New York Etching Club, the Philadelphia Society of Etchers, and the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers, and Engravers in London. Many of his etchings were published in the American Art Review.
