Near Newport

<p>In this late work, John Frederick Kensett portrayed the Rhode Island coast with spare, yet meticulous forms suffused with light and quietude. A solitary female figure seated at right almost goes unnoticed amid the long, horizontal bands of earth and water. It is the expansive sky that dominates the composition, suggestive of a spiritual force in nature. Kensett, who first trained as an engraver, applied draftsman’s precision to his paintings of the American landscape. <em>Near Newport</em> hints at the tourist activities that would come to define the town in the late 19th century, with couples walking along the distant shore and bathing tents dotting the horizon.</p>