J. Denison Crocker

J. Denison Crocker was born in Salem, Connecticut, on 25 November 1823. At the age of nine, he began working for a wagon maker, but at the age of twelve, he gave this up to become a silversmith. In 1840, while working in a chair factory, Crocker saw an oil painting that had been sent in to be varnished. This inspired him to begin painting; he painted portraits at first, but later turned to landscapes. Crocker never received formal training in art. In addition to his painting, J. Denison Crocker was also an inventor, and is credited witha cork-cutting machine and a file-machine.