In 1854 John Frederick Kensett spent part of his summer in the coastal town of Newport, Rhode Island. Reachable by railroad from New York, Newport was a fashionable, bustling resort in this period, especially for the newly wealthy. Many would eventually build some of the grandest of all late-1800s American houses there.

Kensett fell in love with the landscape at Newport, particularly its memorable harbor, with the prominent landmark of Beacon Rock. Throughout the rest of his career, he returned to Newport as a subject for his art, in both large and more intimate compositions. Although this small scene, probably done outdoors directly on-site, is less obsessively detailed and delineated than many of the artist’s larger works, it is a great example of his accomplishments.

Kensett’s deep feeling for nature is apparent in the way he treats the simple coastal scene. He explores the atmospheric visual possibilities of the meeting of water and earth. Of particular interest to the artist is the water’s reflection of the cliffs, shown at the middle right of the composition. Kensett also plays with atmospheric effects in the background, particularly in the dissolving of boundaries between sky and water at the horizon line. Virtually the only thing that separates the two masses is the thin strip of land at left, rendered by a quick stroke of a brush.