The Spring

William Trost Richards

1863 · Graphite on green wove paper · The American Wing

This beautifully fashioned composition, possibly based on scenery in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, is part of a group of such works in pencil or charcoal that Richards executed in the early 1860s. Some were made as designs for his paintings of woodland interiors made during the Civil War years, others were done as independent drawings or possibly for display in his studio as advertisements for commissions. In 1863, the year this drawing was made, Richards was elected a member of the Society for the Advancement of Truth in Art, which comprised the American followers of John Ruskin. The exceptional dexterity and tonal range in this drawing presages the remarkable craftsmanship Richards brought to watercolor in the 1870s.

Artist

William Trost Richards

Date

1863

Medium

Graphite on green wove paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Maria DeWitt Jesup Fund, 1993