Near Newport
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
29.5 × 62.4 cm (11 5/8 × 24 1/4 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
109228
Art Historical Context
John Frederick Kensett's *Near Newport* (1869) captures the serene beauty of Rhode Island's coastline in a masterful oil on canvas, measuring a modest 29.5 × 62.4 cm. As a leading figure in the Luminist movement refined offshoot of the Hudson River SchoolKensett specialized in luminous landscapes that evoke tranquility and the sublime power of nature. Painted shortly after the Civil War, this work reflects a growing American fascination with unspoiled coastal scenes, as Newport emerged as a glamorous summer retreat for the elite, blending natural splendor with emerging Gilded Age leisure. Ken...
About the Artist
John Frederick Kensett · 1816–1872
John Frederick Kensett (1816–1872) was one of the most admired American landscape painters of the nineteenth century, a central figure of the Hudson River School whose late work pioneered the atmospheric, light-saturated style now known as Luminism. Born in Cheshire, Connecticut, into a family of engravers, Kensett learned the craft of engraving in his youth, a discipline that gave him an early tr...