Cormorant Cliff, Jamestown, Rhode Island

1877

William Trost Richards

(American, 1833–1905)

Culture

America

Medium

watercolor and gouache

Support

Light brown wove paper

Measurements

Sheet: 58.4 x 94.1 cm (23 x 37 1/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of the Reverend and Mrs. Danila Pascu 1969.125

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Location

Not on view

Description

As a young artist, Richards was influenced by John Ruskin’s Modern Painters. Richards’s interest in Ruskin was particularly reflected in the younger artist’s meticulous geological studies made directly from nature. Richards strove for the fidelity to nature that he saw in the Pre-Raphaelite paintings exhibited in a show of British art at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1858. He is best known for his seascapes. Like the Impressionists, he was interested in capturing natural light and reflections on water and wet beaches, but his handling was tighter and his palette more tonal.