Coast with Hills (possibly Cornwall)
Artist
William Trost Richards
(American, 1833-1905)
CultureAmerican
Date1880s-1890s
MediumWatercolor and graphite on wove paper
DimensionsOverall: 12 x 21 1/16 in. (30.5 x 53.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Edith Ballinger Price
Object number94.24.39
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a watercolor painting on paper with a large greenish brown hill as the focus. There is a grayish green sea in the foreground and rocks left of center. Dark clouds and misty sky appear over the hill.Label TextCoast with Hills (possibly Cornwall), ca. 1880s–90s Watercolor and graphite on wove paper According to his friends, Richards avoided flattery and was critical of his own work. In a 1912 biographical sketch, Dr. Harrison Morris wrote: He always modestly put praise aside with an apt estimate of his own talents. He knew he could draw matchlessly, and yet there were elements in the portrayal of a breaking wave that he had never achieved to his own satisfaction. If you pressed him with commendation on the side of drawing he would shield his modesty behind his struggles with that miracle of color under the curving wave. He had studied this for years. Gift of Edith Ballinger Price 94.24.39 Exhibition History“Seascapes by William Trost Richards,” Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 9 - May 1, 2016.