Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837–1908)
Well Rock, Scituate, Massachusetts, 1878
Oil on canvas, 18 x 36 in.
Signed and dated lower right: ATBricher / NY 1878
Inscribed on verso: Well Rock Scituate
Provenance: Jeffrey R. Brown Fine Arts, East Longmeadow, Massachusetts; the estate of James R. Ryan, Michigan, until 2006
Well Rock, Scituate, Massachusetts depicts a rock formation that juts into the sea at Minot Beach, which lies a few miles north of Scituate Harbor. On the beach nearby, a fisherman smoking a pipe shows his wares to a woman with a parasol and her daughter. The fisherman’s sailboat is anchored in the middle ground. The loose paint handling in the rocks conveys their solidity, and it suggests the foam on the crests of the waves. The afternoon sun bathes the scene in a warm light.