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Winslow Homer, artist
American, 1836 - 1910
A Swell of the Ocean, 1883
Watercolor over graphite on wove paper
38.4 x 54.5 cm (sheet)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd 1979.7.53
Artist Credit: all
Artist Biography: Painter. Works considered by some to be the most powerful and expressive of late 19th-century American art. Master of sketching and watercolor. Oil paintings are brought alive by the invigorating spontaneity of direct observation from nature. Themes often include man's efforts to establish his humaness in the face of an indifferent universe. ~~Born into an old New England family and enjoyed a happy country childhood. Mother was an amateur painter. At 19 he was apprenticed to the lithographic firm of John Bufford in Boston. Within a few years he was submitting his own drawings for publication in such periodicals as Ballou's Pictorial and Harper's Weekly. In 1859 he moved from Boston to New York City and began his career as a free-lance illustrator. The next year he exhibited his first paintings at the National Academy of Design. ~During the Civil War he made drawings at the front for Harper's. Unlike most artist-correspondents he dealt most often with views of everyday~camp life. As the war continued, he concentrated more and more on~his painting. In 1865 he was elected to the National Academy of Design. ~~Although his studio was in New York City, the city was rarely figures in his work. During the warmer months he traveled to Pennsylvania, the Hudson River valley, and New England, to go camping, hunting, fishing, and sketching. In 1866 he travelled to France for about a year. In Europe he was influenced by French naturalism, Japanese prints, and contemporary fashion illustration, but his work upon his return to America had not changed markedly. However, the pictures were generally somewhat brighter. ~~In 1873 Homer began to work in watercolor, which allowed him to make quick, fresh observations of nature. He explored and resolved new artistic~problems. From the late 1870s Homerdevoted his summers exclusively to direct painting from nature in watercolor. Greater concern for atmospheric effects and reflected light added complexity to the images and at the same time enabled him to achieve greater pictorial unity. ~~Homer received some recognition during his early years but not had any real success by midcareer. By 1880 he had become increasingly antisocial, and deliberately shunned the company of other people. In 1881 he unexpectedly went to England, where he spent about two years sketching and painting in Tynemouth, a remote fishing port on the North Sea. After his return to America in 1883, the sea became his most dominant theme. He moved to Prout's Neck, a fishing village on the coast of Maine. He traveled extensively, always returning to his Prouts Neck studio to convert his sketches into major paintings. Solitude became more than a preference - it became an absolute necessity. He turned his mind and his art to subjects dealing with man's struggle against the elemental forces of nature. ~~~~Reference: Goodrich, Lloyd. The Graphic Art of Winslow Homer . New York: The Museum of Graphic Art, 1968~The Wood Engravings of Winslow Homer. Ed. by Barbara Gelman (New York: Crown Books,[1969])~
Related Keywords
the of Swell A Gift 1979 3rd Rockefeller D John Mr April sold York New Inc 1968 ca 1942 by granddaughter Sewall*s Montgomery N Dorothy MA Crossing Prides law daughter L Rufus Mrs Sewall B William 1883 Boston Gallery Richards Doll file information Galleries Kennedy see America North States United Drawing Waterscape Genre paper wove graphite over Watercolor sea heavy visible barely boat his part ocean jacket hat waterproof man bearded Winslow Homer American 5050161219970019 A000159 1979.7.53 AFGA
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