Artist Stories

Winslow Homer – Painter of America

Alexandra Kiely 10 November 2022 min Read

From soldiers to frolicking schoolchildren and New England fishing communities, Winslow Homer depicted American life. His works present unidealized, yet visually-stunning views of the nation after its brutal Civil War. The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA, owns a great assortment of Homer’s paintings, as well as many prints based on his works. We can use Institute’s collection to explore how Winslow Homer painted America.

Homer the Illustrator

After Winslow Homer, The Army of the Potomac—A Sharp-Shooter on Picket Duty
Winslow Homer, The Army of the Potomac—A Sharp-Shooter on Picket Duty, November 15, 1862, The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA. Image courtesy of the Clark Art Institute.

The Boston-born Winslow Homer (1836-1910) originally worked as an illustrator for periodicals like Harper’s Weekly. During his illustration career, he recorded the soldiers and events of the American Civil War in a series of paintings, many of which became prints for Harper’s. Living in New York after the war, he slowly abandoned illustration in favor of painting, despite his scant formal training. However, his illustration background remains apparent in his painting style through graphic, easy-to-read compositions.

Homer the Painter

Winslow Homer, Two Guides
Winslow Homer, Two Guides, 1877, The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA. Image courtesy of the Clark Art Institute.

Homer’s paintings engagingly represent Americans at work and play. He often portrayed rural folks, such as farmers and fishermen. Homer respected these hardworking men and women, so he made efforts to convey their difficult lives. His paintings are never sentimental or idealized, but they are still quite pleasant to look at. Some have idyllic qualities, while others can be quite dramatic.

Winslow Homer, The Bridle Path, White Mountains
Winslow Homer, The Bridle Path, White Mountains, 1868, The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA. Image courtesy of the Clark Art Institute.

Homer also painted scenes of the upper classes engaged in leisure activities such as swimming and riding. He worked primarily in the American northeast, specifically New England and the mountains of upstate New York. However, he traveled to Florida, Canada, Bermuda, and the Caribbean. Additionally, he also spent time in both England and France.

Homer and Prouts Neck

Winslow Homer, Saco Bay
Winslow Homer, Saco Bay, 1896, The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA. Image courtesy of the Clark Art Institute.

Inspired by his time in Tynemouth on the English coast, Winslow Homer moved to Prouts Neck, Maine in 1883. He lived and worked there until his death in 1910. Homer clearly had an affinity for the ocean and as a result, many of his most beautiful paintings depict the sea and coast at Prouts Neck. His countless images of sailors and fishers include quiet moments, as well as dramatic storms and daring rescue missions.

Winslow Homer, Summer Squall
Winslow Homer, Summer Squall, 1904, The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA. Image courtesy of the Clark Art Institute.

Homer also painted numerous seascapes. His late paintings focus on the drama of the water itself while minimizing or entirely eliminating human elements. He represented clouds, waves, and the spray of seawater with thick, painterly brushstrokes that can feel almost violent in their intensity. Perhaps because of this, some people find Homer’s late paintings of Prouts Neck, like Summer Squall, to be harsh and unfriendly.

Homer at the Clark Art Institute

Winslow Homer, Playing a Fish
Winslow Homer, Playing a Fish, 1875/1890s, The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA. Image courtesy of the Clark Art Institute.

If you want to learn more about the Winslow Homer paintings and prints at the Clark Art Institute, we recommend watching this series of short videos about 16 key artworks by Homer in the museum’s collection.

Bibliography

1.

Peter Bermingham.  American Art in the Barbizon Mood. Washington, D.C., USA: National Collection of Fine Arts and Smithsonian Institution Press, 1975. Quoted on the Smithsonian American Art Museum website.

2.

Wayne Craven. American Art: History and Culture. New York: McGraw Hill Publishing, 2003, pp. 334-338.

3.

Michael J. Lewis. American Art and Architecture. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2006, pp. 130-133, 173.

4.

Barbara H. Weinberg. “Winslow Homer (1836–1910)” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000– (October 2004).

5.

Winslow Homer“. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., USA.

Recommended

Belkis Ayon, The Supper, 1991 Artist Stories

Exploring the Collographs of Belkis Ayón, Cuban Master of Printmaking

Belkis Ayón's transgressive art explored a secret all-male religion called the Abakuá in Cuba. She died tragically aged just 32, leaving behind some of the finest print-making of the 20th century.

Candy Bedworth 1 June 2023

Artist Stories

Stroll Through Paris with Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper is known as one of the premier recorders of American mid-century life. Or mid-century malaise might be a better way to put it:...

Louisa Mahoney 22 May 2023

Jean-François Millet, The Gleaners, 1857, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France Artist Stories

Jean Francois Millet: The Peasant Painter

French artist Jean Francois Millet painted some the world’s best known artworks of peasants toiling in rural landscapes. Explore his life and work!

Candy Bedworth 12 April 2023

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self Portrait in a Straw Hat, 1782, National Gallery, London, UK. Detail. Artist Stories

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun Travels Across Europe

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun was a French portrait painter working in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. While her subject matter and color palette...

Natalia Iacobelli 16 April 2023