John Frederick Kensett 1816 - 1872

Private Collection, New York
Kennedy Galleries, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1971

Good condition, lined; under UV: two or three very minor retouches in the sky, otherwise fine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

John Kensett was born into an artistic family in Cheshire, Connecticut in 1816. He began his career working as an engraver for his father's firm in New Haven but gradually became disenchanted with the business, instead longing to become a landscape painter.  Kensett ultimately went to Europe where he studied the works of the Old Masters and developed his technique alongside Asher B. Durand and other prominent American artists who were making the rounds of European capitals. At his untimely death in 1880, Kensett was considered one of the most illustrious and respected painters of his generation. A memorial exhibition of the contents of his studio took place at the Metropolitan Museum that same year.

Kensett gained acceptance in New York's premier artistic circles and was elected an associate and a full academician of the National Academy of Design in 1848 and 1849. It was around this time that he began his trips to the Catskills, the White Mountains, the Adirondacks and the Newport coast. Throughout his life, Kensett would show an affinity for the lakes, rivers, mountains and seashore of the American Northeast. Hill by the Sea exhibits the delicate texture of Kensett's signature brushwork which describes the heavy moisture of an overcast sky. His subdued palette of gray and green translates into a firmly controlled composition, stripped of superfluities.