The auction market is not necessarily an accurate measure of good taste, but that can mean that serious collectors can acquire plein air masterpieces for relatively reasonable price. Some great 19th century landscape paintings will be offered for less than $250,000 during an auction on April 23, 2012 at Christie’s in New York.

Like many women of her age, Anna Richards Brewster benefitted from increasing opportunities for women in society but she was restrained by the male domination of the art world. As the daughter of the celebrated artist William Trost Richards (1833-1905), she was encouraged to pursue her interest in portraiture and landscape painting, and she found plein air painting to be a welcome relief from the dark academic paintings of the Victorian period.