Trees along Stream in Fall
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase
Accession Number
1970.287
Tags
Art Historical Context
William Trost Richards'Trees along Stream in Fall (1861) invites visitors into a tranquil autumnal landscape, where vibrant foliage in shades of gold, red, and orange frames a gently flowing stream. This oil painting the quiet beauty of nature's seasonal transition, with trees lining the water's edge in meticulous detail—a hallmark of Richards' precise, almost scientific approach to depicting the American wilderness. As a prominent 19th-century artist influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and the Hudson River School Richards emphasized hyper-realistic rendering of light, texture, and botany, evok...
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...