John Frederick Kensett 1816 - 1872

Estate of the artist (sold: National Academy of Design, New York, The Collection of Paintings of the Late Mr. John F. Kensett, March 27, 1873, no. 359 (possibly), illustrated p. 26)
Private collection, Hillsborough, Ohio
By descent in the family to the present owner

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Kensett's interest in coastal scenery and its artistic potential for the study of the effects of light and atmosphere expanded over the course of two decades until his death in 1872. In those years, Kensett produced a large number of works featuring the rocky coastlines, secluded beaches and quiet harbors around Newport, Rhode Island, several of which are among his best-known works.  In Study of Rocks, Newport, he revisited the area around Brenton Cove where the distinctive outcropping, Beacon Rock, was a favorite attraction of both artists and sightseers. In the present painting, Kensett juxtaposes the textures of earthbound shrubs, evergreens and sea grasses, which cling to pockets of soil in slabs of jagged rock, with the more ethereal tonal gradations of water and sky.  Kensett's experience with the clear ocean light of Newport's coastal areas was one of the key catalysts for his shift toward a luminist palette, as he conscientiously sought to capture the most elemental variations of light and air.

Kensett died prematurely of complications from pneumonia in 1872 at the peak of his popularity. Following his death The National Academy of Design held a six day auction of 694 works from in his studio, including Study of Rocks, Newport. The Academy exhibited the entirety of these works, including his sketches, enhancing the demand for his preparatory work, especially in the absence of available finished paintings. John K. Howat noted in his 1968 exhibition catalogue: "the great bulk of pictures to survive are smaller sketches. Kensett's loving treatment of light effects under a variety of weather conditions, and the perfect elaboration of surface textures in nature are found in his large and small works, but in the latter his handling is the freest, most spontaneous and economical" (John Frederick Kensett, New York, 1968, np).