#lucevisiblestorage

[brooklynmuseum]

In response to critics and the ongoing demands of the market, William Trost Richards explored new materials and worked on a larger scale beginning in the late 1870s. In this work, he used a thick, commercial paper that served as a lining beneath carpets. Such a rough-textured support necessitated broader handling and opaque, rather than transparent, watercolor, and inspired Richards to achieve rich tonal and variegated effects.

See more of Richards’ experiments in watercolor on view for one more week in our Luce Visible Storage.

Posted by Margarita Karasoulas William Trost Richards (American, 1833-1905). Lily Pond, Newport, 1877. Opaque watercolor on paper, framed. Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Milberg, 1989.6 

[brooklynmuseum]

Torre di Schiavi depicts an ancient ruin outside Rome that William Trost Richards visited in the fall of 1867. Indeed, his trip abroad that year purportedly inspired him to pursue watercolor: he began working in gouache, a thicker and more malleable form of the medium that facilitates richness of color and opacity. He also used tinted papers in neutral tones of light gray, tan, blue, and green—which had become increasingly popular by midcentury. Here, the blue paper enhances the scene’s luminous color and provides a unified background tone. In the foreground, daubs and hatches of color delineate flowers and individual blades of grass, enlivening the overall composition.

See more of Richards’ experiments in watercolor on view in our Luce Visible Storage though September 9.

Posted by Margarita Karasoulas William Trost Richards (American, 1833-1905). Torre de Schiavi, 1867. Watercolor on paper. Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Grace Richards Conant.

[brooklynmuseum]

NOW ON VIEW in our Luce Visible Storage: William Trost Richards

William Trost Richards: Experiments in Watercolor features approximately twenty innovative works by the American landscape painter. Richards began working in watercolor in the late 1850s, producing outdoor studies of landscapes and still lifes, as well as marine and coastal scenes grounded in careful observation of nature. The exhibition focuses on the artist’s working methods, revealing the ways in which he relied on both traditional and unconventional materials and techniques. 

Posted by Margarita Karasoulas William Trost Richards (American, 1833–1905). Woodland Boulders, circa 1877–78. Transparent and opaque watercolors over graphite on gray/green, moderately thick, smooth textured wove paper, Sheet: 101/16 x 147/16 in. (25.6 x 36.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Mrs. William T. Brewster through the National Academy of Design, 53.228