Study of foliage
May 28, 1850
Classification
nature studies
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of the National Academy of Design from the Mrs. William T. Brewster Bequest
Accession Number
1953-179-12
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
**Study of Foliage William Trost Richards, an American artist born in 1833, created this delicate *Study of Foliage* on May 28, 1850, when he was just 17 old. As one of his earliest known works, it captures the talent of a young artist on the cusp of a distinguished career in landscape and nature painting. Classified as a nature study, piece reflects the 19th-century fascination with natural world, a theme central to American art during the Hudson River School era, though Richards would later draw inspiration from Pre-Raphaelite precision and John Ruskin's emphasis on truthful observation. ...