The Influence of William Trost Richards

An early contributor to the annual exhibitions of the American Society of Painters in Water Color, William Trost Richards (American, 1833 – 1905) helped raise the profile of the medium significantly in the United States. Here, his radiant sunset depiction of island-studded Lake Squam from Red Hill in New Hampshire hints at his admiration for the stunning sky paintings of New York oil painter Frederic Church. Although Richards’ small-scale landscapes are the nearest counterpart in watercolor to the paintings of his idol and other contemporaries in the Hudson River School, he broadly rejected the romanticized and styled approach of the group. In contrast, his paintings combined topographical precision and strong design with a remarkable sense of light and atmospheric breadth to create meticulous factual renderings.


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PleinAir Magazine and American Watercolor Weekly Editor-in-Chief With more than 20 years experience in art publishing, Kelly Kane has served previously as Editor-in-Chief of Watercolor Artist magazine and Content Director for The Artist’s Magazine, Drawing, Acrylic Artist, and Pastel Journal. She has interviewed many of the preeminent artists of our time and written numerous articles about painting, drawing, art education and art history. She is now the Editor-in-Chief of PleinAir Magazine and the American Watercolor Weekly newsletter. Click here to send her an email.

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