William Trost Richards (American, 1833–1905) is an artist associated with both the Hudson River School and the American Pre-Raphaelite movement. Born in Philadelphia in 1833, Trost Richards studied in Florence, Rome, and Paris before settling in Germantown, PA. He was recognized initially for his landscapes—especially of the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine—but turned his attention to the sea beginning in about 1867.

A leading artist of the American Watercolor Society, Richards was esteemed for helping lift the medium into higher prominence.