Sketch of Hills and Mountains, Aug 17/85 (from Sketchbook X)
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
1992.2.2j recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
William Trost Richards, leading American landscape artist of the 19th century associated with the Hudson River School, created *Sketch of Hills and Mountains Aug 17/85* during a summer sketching trip in 1885. This intimate drawing from Sketchbook X exemplifies his lifelong passion for capturing the sublime beauty of nature with meticulous precision. Rendered in graphite on off-white wove, the modest 5 x 7 1/2-inch sheet reflects the portable sketchbooks artists carried for on-site studies, allowing Richards to record fleeting atmospheric effects amid rolling hills and rugged peaks. Richards's...
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...