Clouds over Water (Long Island Sound?) (from Sketchbook) 1858 - 1916

"Clouds over Water (Long Island Sound?) (from Sketchbook)" is a pencil drawing by American artist Henry Ward Ranger, created between 1858 and 1916, the years of his life. This small, intimate sketch, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, captures a simple scene of a single, large cloud above a rippling expanse of water. Ranger's minimalist style and delicate lines evoke the tranquility of nature, offering a glimpse into the artist's creative process and the beauty he observed in the natural world. The drawing's delicate lines and open composition reflect the artist's interest in light and atmosphere, elements that would come to define his later, larger landscape paintings.