“The Island is exceedingly pleasant and healthful; and is celebrated for its fine women.
Travelers, with propriety, call it the Eden of America”

JEDIDIAH MORSE
American Geography; or, A View of the Present Situation of The United States of America, 1789

“A portrait of Rhode Island is as much an image of sea as of land, for the state is dominated by a coastline that has lured countless visitors, including America’s fore- most landscape painters. Rhode Island has been noted throughout its history for its natural beauty and healthful climate, and was first described in 1789 as the “Eden of America.”
Conveniently located between Boston and New York City and easily accessible by train or steamer, Rhode Island evolved during the 19th century into America’s seaside playground. Newport, the colonial rival to New York and Boston, was reborn in the last century as the summer haunt of America’s social elite. Across the Bay to the west, the smaller island of Conanicut (Jamestown) was popular as a picturesque site for excursions from Newport. On the western mainland shore was Narragansett, famous for its Pier and Casino and known by 1880 as the “city of hotels,” while at the Connecticut border, Watch Hill with its popular bathing beaches. developed.
Artists were attracted to Rhode Island throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and it is the combination of land, sea and sky, and the variety of visual possibilities created by these elements, that dominate their paintings…”

From exhibit brochure: THE EDEN OF AMERICA, January 24 to April 27, 1986 Museum of Art,
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
Issued in conjunction with a 1986 exhibition of artwork depicting the countryside of Rhode Island.

Credits: Rhode Island School of Design Museum

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