Frederick DeBourg Richards (1822 - 1903 )

Frederick DeBourg Richards was born on June 24, 1822 in Wilmington, Delaware, where he lived until 1844. His dedication to perfecting his craft led this aspiring artist to move to New York City, where there was a greater chance of making a name for himself.(1) Though Richards never actually lived in the state of New Jersey, he made numerous visits to the Jersey shore. In doing so he was inspired to paint some of his finest paintings, such as his 1881 work “Atlantic City.” In the late 1870s he also maintained a gallery/studio in Anglesea (now called North Wildwood), where he sold his paintings of the shore.

Richards’ success as a landscape artist was enhanced by exhibiting his work at the American Art-Union, a popular venue at this time for up and coming artists.(4) After leaving New York, Richards fell in love with a new city, Philadelphia, where he settled in 1848. At first he opened a daguerreotype gallery across from Independence Hall that was in operation until 1856.(3) Daguerreotypes were an early form of photography produced on a silver or silver-covered copper plate. Though best known for his landscapes and seascapes, it was during this time period that Richards expanded his repertoire from oil on canvas to include etchings, watercolors, and photography.(2)

The most noteworthy collection of DeBourg Richards’ photographs can be found at the Library Company of Philadelphia; this collection contains his early works from 1850 to 1864, depicting buildings in and around the Philadelphia area.(3) One can categorize his collection into two main groups: the smaller group includes commissioned works, usually requested by prominent Philadelphia artists such as James Hamilton and William Trost Richards, and photos that other wealthy men hired him to take of their estates.(3) The larger group was of old buildings; often these buildings were run down and dilapidated. DeBourg Richards was able to capture the city of Philadelphia during a time of major transformation, documenting the rapidly disappearing old mansions and wooden houses as well as the beauty and brick structures of the new Germantown.(3)

DeBourg Richards was an active member of the Philadelphia Society of Artists, the Artist’s Fund Society, the Art Club of Philadelphia and a handful of other local organizations.(2) His work was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the American Institute, the American Art Union, and the National Academy of Design.(1)

DeBourg Richards traveled on many occasions to Europe and even ended up moving to Paris in 1868; his stay was short-lived, however, and he returned to Philadelphia, where he remained with his wife and two daughters until his death in January of 1903.

(Karen Petrella, Spring 2006)

Sailing Along the Coast

Sailing Along the Coast, n.d., oil on canvas, 18 x 36, signed lower left. Photograph courtesy Shannons Fine Art Auctioneers, New Milford, Connecticut. (See link, below.)

Atlantic City, 1881, oil on canvas, 18 by 36 inches. Photograph courtesy the Schwarz Gallery, Philadelphia (see link below).

Before living in Paris, Richard’s landscapes were primarily of the Pennsylvania countryside and scenes from the surrounding states. During his time in Europe, he did many paintings of Italian and Welsh landscapes (4). When he returned to the states Richards took more of an interest in seascapes and began painting images of the Jersey shore as well as scenes from the Connecticut coast marshlands.

His first documented landscape of New Jersey was entitled “Salt Marshes at Atlantic City in October.” It was exhibited in 1878 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts’ annual exhibition. DeBourg Richards’ interest in marine subjects was perfectly timed to coincide with the shore’s tourism boom resulting from the fare war between the Camden and Atlantic Railroad and the Philadelphia and Atlantic Railroad.(1) It was also during the late 1870s that Richards bought a small studio in Anglesea, now named North Wildwood, where he displayed the many paintings, watercolors, and etchings that he had done of the Jersey shore.(1)

Richards painted in a realistic style influenced by the Hudson River School, the leading group of landscape painters during the mid-19th century. In American art of the 19th century, landscape painting was the most prevalent genre. The Hudson River School is often considered the first coherent or indigenous school of American art; it was founded by Thomas Cole and his followers, such as Asher B. Durand.(5) This style of painting has its roots in European Romanticism; the paintings depicted the Hudson River Valley and surrounding areas in the northeast. Many of these painters wanted to capture human beings and nature coexisting peacefully together, as well as to demonstrate three widespread themes of America in the 19th century: exploration, discovery, and settlement.(5)

Richards’ paintings differ from many Hudson River School paintings in that they do not appear to contain any underlying religious themes or symbolism. Richards simply wanted to capture the beauty of nature that surrounded him. The Hudson River School painters generally used pencil and oil sketches made on site, along with their memories of a location, to work up large canvases later on in their studios.(5) After Thomas Cole’s death in 1848, the second generation of the Hudson River School painters took over and their style evolved into the Luminist and late Romantic schools.

One source has labeled Richards as a Luminist painter.(2) This style is characterized as having an emphasis on detail and attempting to hide the painter’s brush strokes. It is also marked by an interest in light and reflections in landscapes and seascapes, on water and sky.(6) The term Luminism was not introduced until the 20th century, and was used to describe a specific type of 19th century American landscape painting.(5) Common themes of the luminist painters include tranquility, peace, and quietude; calm seas and hazy or clear skies. Richards’ landscapes and seascapes were very realistic, a common characteristic of the Hudson River School and the Luminists who followed.(5)

DeBourg Richards’ paintings of the Atlantic City shoreline are of particular interest because many people associate Atlantic City with the bright lights and constant activity of the casinos that never close, rather than with the serene views that Richards portrayed. It is also refreshing to view the beach with only a few people on it. Atlantic City is such an enormous tourist attraction nowadays that only in winter can one find the beach as peaceful and undisturbed as Richards depicted it.

(K.P.)

References:

(1) Robert Wilson Torchia, “New Jersey Remembered: 75th Anniversary” (Exhibition catalogue, Schwarz Gallery, Philadelphia). Also available online (see link below).

(2) Ask Art website (see link below).

(3) Bryn Mawr college website: http://www.brynmawr.edu/cities/couses/05-306/proj2/tnb2/body.html

(4) Oxford Gallery website: http://www.oxfordgallery.com/Period_Artists/richards.html

(5) Wikipedia website, “Hudson River School” and “Luminism”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River_School

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminism_%28American_art_style%29

(6) I Hear America Singing Artist/Movement/Ideas: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/icon/hudson.html