Landscape with Trees (from Sketchbook VII)
Medium
Graphite on off-white wove paper
Dimensions
5 x 7 1/2 in. (12.7 x 19.1 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Gifts in memory of Stephen D. Rubin, 1992
Accession Number
1992.2.1q
Tags
Art Historical Context
William Trost Richards' *Landscape with Trees (frombook VII)*, created in 1886, offers an intimate glimpse into the American artist's deep affinity for nature. Drawn in graphite on off-white w paper, this modest 5 x 7 1/2-inch sketch captures the essence of a wooded landscape, emphasizing trees in their natural setting. As part of Sketchbook VII, it reflects Richards' practice of producing detailed studies outdoors, a hallmark of 19th-century American artists who revered the American wilderness. Richards, a prominent figure in American landscape art, was known for his precise, luminous depict...
About the Artist
William Trost Richards · 1833–1905
William Trost Richards (1833–1905) was a prominent American landscape and marine painter born in Philadelphia, where he attended Central High School before beginning his artistic training. Between 1850 and 1855, he studied part-time under the German-born Hudson River School artist Paul Weber while working as a designer and illustrator of ornamental metalwork. He exhibited his first works at the Pe...