The Lawn, Jones Cottage, Newport, Rhode Island

In 1865 George Frederic Jones, the father of famed American writer Edith Jones Wharton, built Pen Craig, one of the Newport mansions known as “cottages” because they were only used by the wealthy summer colony during the two-month season. The house remained in the family as a summer residence until 1899. Kensett depicts the sweeping view of Newport Harbor from the house, leading the eye over the lawn to the distant view of the water, almost subsumed in the hazy blue of the sky.