Beacon Rock, Newport Harbor
1857
Artist, American, 1816 - 1872
In the mid-1850s John Frederick Kensett began to turn his attention from scenes of mountains, lakes, and woodland interiors to coastal views such as Beacon Rock, Newport Harbor. His work also shifted from the dramatic landscape tradition of Thomas Cole to a quieter, more contemplative style notable for its carefully observed effects of light and atmosphere, muted colors, subtle tonal variations, and simplified compositions. Kensett's experience of Newport, Rhode Island, which he visited numerous times starting in 1854, may have contributed to these changes in style.
Fascinated by Newport's rocky coastline, secluded beaches, and quiet harbors, Kensett painted numerous scenes of that distinctive shoreline where massive rock formations are balanced by open expanses of water. Beacon Rock, Newport Harbor shows a view from the cove across Newport Harbor with the large mass of Beacon Rock on the right and Fort Adams on the left. Sailboats ply the waters, small waves lap the foreground shore, and a lone fisherman stands on a rock at water's edge. The image is remarkable for its indelible sense of calmness, clarity, and quiet. Everyday existence is seemingly transfixed, locked in space by Kensett's carefully structured composition and precise brushwork.
More information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I, pages 391-394, which is available as a free PDF at https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/american-paintings-19th-century-part-1.pdf
West Building Main Floor, Gallery 67
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 57.2 x 91.4 cm (22 1/2 x 36 in.)
framed: 85.7 x 119.4 x 10.2 cm (33 3/4 x 47 x 4 in.) -
Accession
1953.1.1
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Possibly Jonathan Sturges [1802-1874], New York, and Fairfield, Connecticut;[1] his son, Frederick Sturges [d. 1917], New York, and Fairfield, Connecticut; his son, Frederick Sturges, Jr. [1876-1977], Fairfield, Connecticut; gift 1953 to NGA.
[1] According to Frederick Sturges, Jr. (letter of 18 January 1966 in NGA curatorial files), the picture was "painted for my grandfather Jonathan Sturges." Letters of 27 August and 7 December 1981 from Frederick Sturges III (in NGA curatorial files) state that family tradition held that all paintings in the Sturges collection were originally purchased by Jonathan Sturges. In this and four other instances (see Casilear, View on Lake George [1978.6.1]; Durand, Forest in the Morning Light and A Pastoral Scene [1978.6.2 and 1978.6.3]; and Kensett, Beach at Beverly [1978.6.5]) no certain evidence establishes ownership by Jonathan Sturges. No works by Kensett are mentioned in the discussions of the Jonathan Sturges collection in "Our Private Collections, No. II," The Crayon 3, February 1856, 57-58; Thomas S. Cummings, Historic Annals of the National Academy of Design (1825-1863), Philadelphia, 1865: 141 (reprint, New York, 1965); or Henry T. Tuckerman, Book of the Artists, New York, 1867: 627 (reprint, New York, 1967). Kensett's account book has an entry in 1857 for a Newport Scene sold for $300, which may refer to the National Gallery painting (letter of 26 July 1965 from Ellen H. Johnson, in NGA curatorial files); however, the name of the purchaser is not listed, making it impossible to verify this assumption.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1945
The Hudson River School and the Early American Landscape Tradition, The Art Institute of Chicago; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1945, 86, 121, no. 130, as Newport Harbor.
1946
An Exhibition of Paintings and Prints of Every Description on the Occasion of Knoedler One Hundred Years 1846-1946, M. Knoedler and Co., New York, 1946, no. 55, as Newport Harbor.
1949
De Gustibus...An Exhibition of American Paintings Illustrating a Century of Taste and Criticism, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1949, no. 11, as Newport Harbor.
Exhibition of American Paintings from the Collections of Members, The Century Association, New York, 1949, as Newport Harbor.
1953
Extended loan for use by The White House, Washington, D.C., 1953-1960.
1966
Paintings by American Masters, Fifth Anniversary Exhibition, Kalamazoo Art Center, Michigan, 1966, 8, as Newport Harbor.
1968
John Frederick Kensett 1816-1872, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Ohio; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Cummer Gallery of Art, Jacksonville, Florida, 1968-1969, no. 28 (organized by American Federation of Arts).
1980
La Pintura de Los Estados Unidos de Museos de la Ciudad de Washington, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 1980-1981, no. 15, color repro.
American Light: The Luminist Movement, 1850-1875, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980, 53, 55, fig. 59.
1985
John Frederick Kensett: An American Master, Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985-1986, 57, 108, 148, pl. 20.
1986
En Ny Värld: Amerikanst landskapsmaleri 1830-1900 och ett urval samtida skandinaviskt landskapsmaleri, Nationalmuseum Stockholm; Gothenburg Art Museum, Sweden, 1986-1987, 89-90, no. 60.
2000
Art and the Empire City: New York, 1825-1861, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2000-2001, no. 37, repro.
Bibliography
1949
Larkin, Oliver W. Art and Life in America. New York, 1949: repro. 206, as Newport Harbor.
1953
"Accessions of American and Canadian Museums: January - March 1953." Art Quarterly 16 (Autumn 1953): 251.
1966
Raben, Mary Kathleen. "American Luminism, 1830-1970." M.A. thesis, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 1966: 19, repro. 84, as Newport Harbor.
1968
Howat, John K. John Frederick Kensett, 1816-1872. Exh. cat. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Ohio; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Cummer Gallery of Art, Jacksonville. New York, 1968: no. 28.
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 76, repro.
1974
Moore, James C. "The Storm and the Harvest: The Image of Nature in Mid-Nineteenth Century American Landscape Painting." Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1974: 194-195, 269, fig. 154, color repro., as Newport Harbor.
1975
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 559, no. 850, color repro.
1977
Andrus, Lisa Fellows. "Measure and Design in American Painting, 1760-1860." Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1976: 272-273, repro. 415.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 187, repro.
1981
Sullivan, Mark White. "John F. Kensett, American Landscape Painter." Ph.D. dissertation, Bryn Mawr College, 1981: v, 132, 134-141, 143, fig. 19, as Newport.
Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: 118, repro. 120.
1982
Garrett, Elayne Genishi. "The British Sources of American Luminism." Ph.D. dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, 1982: 82, 276, fig. 70.
Mrozek, Donald J. "The American Idea of Recreation and the Changing Role of the National Parks." Conspectus of History 1 (1982): 20, fig. 1.
1983
Brown, Milton W. One Hundred Masterpieces of American Painting from Public Collections in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., 1983: 68, color repro. 69.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 549, no. 834, color repro.
1985
Wilmerding, John. "Walt Whitman and American Painting." Antiques 132 (November 1985): 998, color repro. 999.
Driscoll, John Paul, and John Howat. John Frederick Kensett: An American Master. Exh. cat. Worchester Art Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Worcester and New York, 1985: 57, 108, 148, pl. 20.
1987
Wilmerding, John. American Marine Painting. Rev. ed. of A History of American Marine Painting, 1968. New York, 1987: 53, color repro. 52.
1990
Sullivan, Mark W. "John F. Kensett at Newport: The making of a luminist painter." Antiques 137 (November 1990): 1032, color repro. 1030-1031.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 217, repro.
1994
Craven, Wayne. American Art: History and Culture. New York, 1994: 217-218, color fig. 24.
1996
Kelly, Franklin, with Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., Deborah Chotner, and John Davis. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 391-394, color repro.
1999
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. 2 vols. Revised ed. New York, 1999: 2:999-1000, fig. 27.30.
2012
"Rethinking 'Luminism': Taste, Class, and Aestheticizing Tendencies in Mid-Nineteenth-Century American Landscape Painting." In The Cultured Canvas: New Perspectives on American Landscape Painting edited by Nancy Siegel. Lebanon, N.H., 2012: 139, fig. 4.9, color pl. 14.
Inscriptions
lower right, JF in ligature: JF.K. 57
Wikidata ID
Q20188383