S. P. Rolt Triscott: Monhegan Artist and Photographer

Rediscovering S. P.  Rolt Triscott, by Richard Malone and Earle Shettleworth, delves into the life of watercolorist Samuel Peter Rolt Triscott (1846–25) who, in 1902, moved permanently to Monhegan Island, becoming the first artist to live there year-round. 

His biography is accompanied by 50 paintings and more than 60 black and white photographs of Monhegan, printed from his glass plates. A classic nineteenth-century watercolorist in the English tradition, Triscott continued to paint, but also did photography, painted in oils, and produced hand-tinted photographs. He took delight in his garden and his cats, served tea in the afternoon to a few select friends, and gradually severed his ties with the cosmopolitan art world in favor of life on a rugged island ten miles out to sea. 

He continued painting in the style which suited him best, but as public taste turned to Impressionism, Expressionism, and Modernism, his masterful landscapes and beautifully composed studies were largely ignored by the larger art world. In the years following his death, many of his paintings were given away or sold for just a few dollars, but some remained in islanders’ homes and he was considered by some locals to have been one of the most important members of Monhegan’s celebrated art community. 

In the 1970s Richard Malone began collecting Triscott’s paintings and undertook researching his life. His biographical essay on Triscott forms the core of this book, with 50 paintings shown in full color. More than 60 black and white photographs of Monhegan, printed from Triscott’s glass plates, are accompanied by an essay by Earle Shettleworth on Triscott’s photography.