{"id":3494,"date":"2025-02-19T17:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T22:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/?p=3494"},"modified":"2025-02-19T17:14:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T22:14:58","slug":"john-frederick-kensett-on-the-beverly-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/john-frederick-kensett-on-the-beverly-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"John Frederick Kensett On the Beverly Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kadence-column3494_b99390-08{max-width:100%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;}.wp-block-kadence-column.kb-section-dir-horizontal:not(.kb-section-md-dir-vertical)>.kt-inside-inner-col>.kadence-column3494_b99390-08{-webkit-flex:0 1 100%;flex:0 1 100%;max-width:unset;margin-left:unset;margin-right:unset;}.kadence-column3494_b99390-08 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column3494_b99390-08 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column3494_b99390-08 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column3494_b99390-08 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column3494_b99390-08 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column3494_b99390-08 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column3494_b99390-08{position:relative;}@media all and (min-width: 1025px){.wp-block-kadence-column.kb-section-dir-horizontal>.kt-inside-inner-col>.kadence-column3494_b99390-08{-webkit-flex:0 1 100%;flex:0 1 100%;max-width:unset;margin-left:unset;margin-right:unset;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column3494_b99390-08 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.wp-block-kadence-column.kb-section-sm-dir-vertical:not(.kb-section-sm-dir-horizontal):not(.kb-section-sm-dir-specificity)>.kt-inside-inner-col>.kadence-column3494_b99390-08{max-width:100%;-webkit-flex:1;flex:1;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;}.kadence-column3494_b99390-08 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column3494_b99390-08 mobile-section\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"774\" height=\"114\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/lynch-logo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2922\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/lynch-logo.png 774w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/lynch-logo-300x44.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/lynch-logo-768x113.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 774px) 100vw, 774px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-3494_eaa75d-cf .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-3494_eaa75d-cf .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#f1f1f1;width:100%;border-top-style:solid;}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-3494_eaa75d-cf .kt-divider{width:100%!important;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-3494_eaa75d-cf\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>John Frederick Kensett (1816\u201372)<br><em>On the Beverly Coast<\/em>, 1865<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oil on canvas<br>McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch Collection, 2021.21<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"558\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/kensett-beverly.jpg\" alt=\"On the Beverly Coast\" class=\"wp-image-3496\" style=\"width:1202px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/kensett-beverly.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/kensett-beverly-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/kensett-beverly-768x419.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-background is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"background-color:#f1f1f1\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Jeffery Howe<\/strong><br>Professor Emeritus, Art History<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/jeffery-howe.jpg\" alt=\"Jeffery Howe\" class=\"wp-image-3273\" style=\"width:78px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/jeffery-howe.jpg 200w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/jeffery-howe-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"570\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/mingo-beach-1-1024x570.jpg\" alt=\"Mingo Beach\" class=\"wp-image-3503\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/mingo-beach-1-1024x570.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/mingo-beach-1-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/mingo-beach-1-768x427.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/mingo-beach-1-1536x854.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/mingo-beach-1.jpg 1582w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"537\" height=\"659\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/kensett-falls.jpg\" alt=\"Bish-Bash Falls\" class=\"wp-image-3499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/kensett-falls.jpg 537w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/kensett-falls-244x300.jpg 244w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 537px) 100vw, 537px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Top: Mingo Beach, Beverly, Massachusetts, March 11, 2022, at low tide. Photograph: Jeffery Howe.<br>Bottom:\u00a0<em>Bash-Bish Falls, Massachusetts<\/em>, 1855. Oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p>John Frederick Kensett was a leading luminist artist, influenced by nineteenth-century Transcendentalism. His precise and accurate style was shaped by his early training as an engraver. This almost abstract vision of the rocky shore of Beverly, Massachusetts, depicts the Atlantic Ocean and horizon cloaked in a luminous mist. This evanescent realm of light and color is balanced by the harsh clarity of a rocky promontory with low trees at right. The stilled sea and split rocks have an elegiac undertone of calm after a storm, perhaps a metaphor for the end of the Civil War and desire for peace. The golden light of the distant sea also suggests a hope for freedom, transcending the burdens of earthly life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beverly was a popular summer resort at this time, called by some the \u201cRiviera of Massachusetts.\u201d Kensett often sketched at the nearby summer estate of Charles Greeley Loring, later trustee and director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and completed more than twenty paintings of the area. Loring\u2019s estate (now demolished, near the site of Endicott College) faced a trio of beaches, one of which has an intriguing history. According to local historians, Mingo Beach (see photo) was named for Robin Mingo, an African American or Native American enslaved person owned by Thomas Woodberry. Legend has it that Mingo was promised his freedom if a rare low tide ever made it possible to walk to a distant off-shore rock, an event that unfortunately only occurred in the year he died (1748).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A further association of this locale with themes of freedom is found in the tradition that this beach was used as an escape route for those accused of witchcraft in nearby Salem; a local path is still called Witches Lane. Kensett chose scenes that were not only visually and geologically interesting, but had historic resonance. He painted Bash-Bish Falls in the Berkshires several times; the Falls were named for a Native American woman named Bash-Bish who had been condemned to death at that site (see image).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-background is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"background-color:#f1f1f1\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong><strong>John Sallis<\/strong><\/strong><br>Frederick J. Adelmann, SJ Professor, Philosophy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/sallis.jpg\" alt=\"John Sallis\" class=\"wp-image-3489\" style=\"width:78px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/sallis.jpg 200w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/02\/sallis-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Early in his career Kensett traveled extensively in Europe, moving between London and Paris and settling for a period in Italy. When finally he decided to return to the United States, he expressed his desire in these words: he wanted \u201cto get amid the scenery\u201d of his own country, for, as he said, \u201cit abounds with the picturesque, the grand, and the beautiful.\u201d Upon his return, he set about painting scenes of the marshlands of coastal New England, as well as landscapes along the Hudson River, at Niagara Falls, in the Catskills and the Adirondacks. He established his reputation as the master of American luminism, a style that emphasizes smooth, seamless surfaces of light. Kensett alludes to a kind of luminism in a journal entry that reads: \u201cthe simplicity of strength and knowledge.\u201d This expressionism is exemplified in a work such as&nbsp;<em>On the Beverly Coast<\/em>. In this painting much of the surface depicts water and sky; the work displays such simplicity that only the slightest shading betrays the division between sea and sky. A sense of strength is conveyed by the rocks, which are securely anchored. One can readily imagine that arboreal figure that backs them is a tree of knowledge, toward which the two human figures at the extreme right appear to be walking across a stony ledge, its color mirroring that of the large stone in the foreground of the painting.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-3494_1aa710-b8 .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-3494_1aa710-b8 .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#f1f1f1;width:100%;border-top-style:solid;}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-3494_1aa710-b8 .kt-divider{width:100%!important;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-3494_1aa710-b8\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"383\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/mcmullen-logo-gold-1024x383.png\" alt=\"Logo Gold\" class=\"wp-image-2910\" style=\"width:569px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/mcmullen-logo-gold-1024x383.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/mcmullen-logo-gold-300x112.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/mcmullen-logo-gold-768x287.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/mcmullen-logo-gold.png 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Frederick Kensett (1816\u201372)On the Beverly Coast, 1865 Oil on canvasMcMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch Collection, 2021.21 Jeffery HoweProfessor Emeritus, Art History John Frederick Kensett was a leading luminist artist, influenced by nineteenth-century Transcendentalism. His precise and accurate style was shaped by his early training as an engraver. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140560,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"margaret-sandbox","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/author\/margaret-sandbox\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/140560"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3494"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3504,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3494\/revisions\/3504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}