TitleRock and Seas--Monhegan
Artist
William Frederick Ritschel
(1864 - 1949)
Date1914
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 30 × 34 in.
SignedSigned at lower left: "W. Ritschell [?] / 1914"
SubmissionNA diploma presentation, May 4, 1914
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number1072-P
Label TextMonhegan Island off the coast of Maine was a favorite resort of American artists. Numerous artists including George Bellows, Robert Henri and Rockwell Kent painted and sketched there in th early years of the twentieth century. In his marine of the island coastline, Ritschel has chosen a dramatic angle to portray the turbulent waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the craggy rocky outcrops. Set against a grey sky, the waves crash over the the slags and crags of rock, turning the ocean water white and foamy.
Although this work was accpeted by the Academy's Council "as a temporary representation" of Ritschel's work, "to be replaced by a more important example" at a later date, it remains the artist's NA diploma painting, never having been replaced (CM, May 4, 1914).
