Cormorant Cliff, Jamestown, Rhode Island

Cormorant Cliff, Jamestown, Rhode Island — William Trost Richards. 1877.

Medium: watercolor and gouache. Dimensions: Sheet: 58.4 x 94.1 cm (23 x 37 1/16 in.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

As a young artist, Richards was influenced by John Ruskin’s Modern Painters. Richards’s interest in Ruskin was particularly reflected in the younger artist’s meticulous geological studies made directly from nature. Richards strove for the fidelity to nature that he saw in the Pre-Raphaelite paintings exhibited in a show of British art at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1858. He is best known for his seascapes. Like the Impressionists, he was interested in capturing natural light and reflections on water and wet beaches, but his handling was tighter and his palette more tonal.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.