Wendell Endicott, Massachusetts
Harrison Keller, Massachusetts, 1949 (acquired from the above)
The New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, Massachusetts (acquired from the above; sold: Christie's, New York, May 31, 1985, lot 50, illustrated)
Alexander Gallery, New York 
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1987

This work is in very good condition. The canvas is unlined. Under UV: a few spots of what appear to be pooled varnish fluoresce in the water at the lower left. A horizontal area of gray pigment in the clouds at upper right fluoresces unevenly, but appears to be original.
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.

A member of the Hudson River School, William Trost Richards distinguished himself as a painter of seascapes rather than landscapes. Other artists had attempted to paint the ocean, but none did it with such success. As opposed to many of his contemporaries, Richards’ remarkably realistic depictions of incandescent, crashing waves and the effects of light and mist came from firsthand observation. Painted in 1904, Off Conanicut, Newport is a superb example of the artist’s ability to portray the power of waves. He routinely painted at the water’s edge, in all weather and conditions, resulting in startlingly lifelike dpections; “Richards spent his days studying the breaking waves, habitually getting as close to the water as he could. The titanic pull of the tides and the spill of clouds across the sky were for him manifestations of spiritual significance—‘all the saddest and wildest noises of nature are reproduced by the surf’—and he worked hard to catch the revelatory light on surfaces” (Carol M. Osborne, William Trost Richards: True to Nature, Stanford, California 2010, p. 109).

Richards’ success in conveying nature’s raw power and splendor is clearly evident in the present work, which shows no shoreline, making the waves its sole subject.  With its spectacular light, color and details, Off Conanicut, Newport demonstrates Richards' skill as he successfully portrays the waves in a beautiful, harmonious and flawless composition. In a letter to a friend, Richards captures the picture perfectly, “I watch and watch it, try to disentangle its push and leap and recoil, make myself ready to catch the tricks of the big breakers and am always startled out of my self-possession by the thunder and the rush, jump backward up the loose shingle of the beach, sure this time I will be washed away; get soaked with spray, and am ashamed that I had missed getting the real drawing of such a splendid one, and this happens 20 times an hour and I have never got used to it” (Ibid., p. 94).