Cormorant Cliff, Jamestown, Rhode Island
1877
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
1877
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Cormorant Cliff, Jamestown, Rhode Island is a 1877 by William Trost Richards, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a rocky coastline with waves crashing hard against dark cliffs. The water’s white foam contrasts with the deep greens and browns of the rocks. A lone bird flies just above the surf. Richards painted this from real cliffs in Rhode Island. He wanted every rock and wave to look exactly right. Light hits the water just so, making the scene feel alive. See it at The Cleveland Museum of Art.
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.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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