Beacon Rock, Newport, 1863
by John Frederick Kensett (1816–1872)5½ x 9⅝ inches
Monogrammed and dated lower right: JF. K. 63
Information
Provenance
Private collection, (likely) Weston, Massachusetts
Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts, acquired from above, (likely) 1976 (as Newport Harbor (Beacon Rock))
Private collection, Hartford, Connecticut, acquired from above, (likely) 1977
William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, Rhode Island, acquired from above, by 1990
Private collection, Bedford, New York, acquired from above
William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, Rhode Island, acquired from above
Private collection, Bethesda, Maryland, acquired from above, 2018
Exhibited
William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, Rhode Island, The Artistic Heritage of Newport and the Narragansett Bay (An Exhibition to Benefit Save The Bay), July 13–November 30, 1990
William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, Rhode Island, A Precious Muse: Art of the Narragansett Bay Then and Now (An Exhibition to Benefit Save The Bay), July 21–September 9, 2007
William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, Rhode Island, Historic New England: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit Historic New England- America’s Oldest and Most Comprehensive Regional Heritage Organization, July 12–November 14, 2010
Literature
The Artistic Heritage of Newport and the Narragansett Bay (Newport, RI: William Vareika Fine Arts, 1990), plate 1.
A Precious Muse: Art of the Narragansett Bay Then and Now (Newport, RI: William Vareika Fine Arts, 2007).
Historic New England: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit Historic New England–America’s Oldest and Most Comprehensive Regional Heritage Organization (Newport, RI: William Vareika Fine Arts, 2010).
Related Works
Beacon Rock, Newport Harbor, 1857, oil on canvas, 22½ x 36 inches, monogrammed and dated lower right: JFK 57; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Beacon Rock, Newport, 1863, oil on canvas, 18 x 30 inches, monogrammed and dated lower right: JF. K. 63; Art Bridges Foundation, Bentonville, Arkansas
Marine View of Beacon Rock, Newport Harbor, 1864, oil on canvas, 28½ x 45¾ inches; The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, Florida
Newport, Rhode Island (Beacon Rock), 1872, oil on canvas, 12 x 20½ inches; Dallas Museum of Art, Texas
Note: This composition shows a view from Brenton Cove, with Beacon Rock on the right and Fort Adams on the left.[1] Kensett visited Newport, Rhode Island, numerous times, beginning in 1854. By the 1850s, Newport had become a popular vacation destination for New Yorkers. Many of those same vacationers were patrons of contemporary American painting, so it is unsurprising that Kensett began to depict the scenery at Newport in response to demand.[2]
[1] Franklin Kelly, American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I (Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1996), 391. [2] Ibid.Artist Biography
Leading Hudson River School Painter Famous for New England Views
By Amy J. Carvel
Painting in a unique style, Kensett became known as one of America’s most beloved landscape painters and luminists, as well as a founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
I. Biography
II. Chronology
III. Collections
IV. Exhibitions
V. Memberships
VI. Notes
VII. Suggested Resources
I. Biography
John Frederick Kensett