Artwork
Eagle's Nest, Franconia Notch
Eagle's Nest, Franconia Notch is a watercolor work on paper by the Hudson River School artist William Trost Richards. It dates from 1873 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
You see a steep mountain slope covered in dark evergreens, a single bare tree jutting out near the top, and a pale sky above.
You see a steep mountain slope covered in dark evergreens, a single bare tree jutting out near the top, and a pale sky above.
Richards painted this in 1873, right when artists were leaving the studio to work outdoors. He used thin, overlapping washes, like watery layers of color, to build the misty feel of the forest. The bare tree stands out because he left the paper white underneath, letting light shine through.
If you like this quiet way of painting trees, look up the subject landscapes.
Subject & Meaning
The work portrays a solitary tree set within the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a motif that evokes both the untamed wilderness and the spiritual reverence for nature characteristic of 19th‑century American landscape painting. By situating the tree at Eagle's Nest in Franconia Notch, Richards connects the specific locale to broader Romantic ideals of sublime scenery and national identity.
Technique & Style
Eagle's Nest, Franconia Notch is a landscape rendered in watercolor, gouache, and graphite on light tan wove paper, a medium and support documented in the work's technical description. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds the piece, where it remains on view within the American Wing's landscape genre.
The composition emphasizes a solitary tree set against a rugged New Hampshire vista, employing delicate tonal modulation and precise linear contours that convey both naturalistic detail and atmospheric depth. Graphite underdrawing defines foliage and rock formations, while layered washes of watercolor and gouache create subtle gradations of light and shadow, reinforcing the painting's formal balance and stylistic focus on topographic accuracy.
History & Provenance
William Trost Richards painted Eagle’s Nest, Franconia Notch in 1873, as established by both the artist’s inscription and the work’s inception date. The medium, a combination of watercolor, gouache, and graphite on light tan wove paper, aligns with Richards’ practice during this period, though no specific commission or patron is documented for this landscape.
The watercolor entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains housed in the American Wing. Its provenance prior to acquisition by the museum is unrecorded in available sources.
Overview
William Trost Richards’ 1873 work, Eagle’s Nest, Franconia Notch, is a small landscape executed in watercolor, gouache, and graphite on light‑tan wove paper. The composition presents a sharply inclined mountain slope clothed in dense, dark evergreens, a solitary leafless tree near the crest, and a pale sky that occupies the upper field.
Artist & collection
- Parti i Valders i Norge. Aften
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