A Wharf at Whitby

Anna Mary Richards Brewster was the precocious daughter of seascapist William Trost Richards. At the early age of fourteen she had already exhibited at the National Academy of Design. She studied at the Cowles School of Art in Boston, Art Students League in New York, in Paris at the Académie Julian, and with John Lafarge and William Merritt Chase. She also lived in London between 1896 and 1905. It was during this time that she painted A Wharf at Whitby probably about 1898. 

Brewster captures, here, the “tranquil but industrious” nature of the port, depicting the moored boat and workers and townsfolk going about their daily routine. Using muted blues, browns, and grays she creates a sense of calm and “maritime realism.”  Brewster skillfully gives the impression of soft diffused light which suggests the early morning mist of Whitby. 

A Wharf at Whitby exhibits Brewster’s American Impressionist influences as well a “Turner-like luminosity” reflecting her European training and travel.