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Welcome to the fourth installment of our FreeWriters
Artist Series
Winslow Homer,
and the beauty of the Natural World:
Winslow Homer
Widely regarded as one of the greatest American artists of the 19th century, Winslow Homer (1836-1910) also has deep and deeply influential ties to Maine and the Portland Museum of Art. Indeed, the PMA is the “home” of Homer in several important regards: the museum has deep holdings of his works spanning his entire career and it operates the Winslow Homer Studio, a landmark building perched on the rocky coast of Maine in which the artist resided from 1884 until his death.
portlandmuseum.org
Born in Boston, Homer began his artistic career in the late 1850s with an apprenticeship in a Boston lithography shop and then as a freelance illustrator working in New York City for popular magazines, such as Harper’s Weekly . He quickly came to national attention for closely observed and perceptive images of modern American life, particularly his Civil War subjects that explore the experiences of rank-and-file soldiers in the Union army and the broader social impact of the sectional conflict. While continuing to produce commercial illustrations until 1875, Homer increasingly concentrated his efforts on oil painting and watercolor. His paintings of contemporary life—including images of the Civil War, rural children, fashionable women, and modern leisure pursuits (such as croquet, hiking, and hunting)—as well as his loosely painted realistic style earned Homer critical acclaim as one of the nation’s most progressive and original artists.
portlandmuseum.org
Winslow Homer first discovered Prouts Neck, Maine, with his parents and two brothers in 1875. The family fell in love with the natural beauty of this small seaside community and began purchasing property and spending summers in Maine in the early 1880s. When Winslow Homer decided to relocate permanently from New York City, where he had lived for more than 20 years, to Prouts Neck, he hired John Calvin Stevens, a Portland architect and leading proponent of the Shingle Style, to convert a carriage house into his residence and studio. Perched on the rocky coast and commanding panoramic vistas of the Atlantic ocean, this 1,500-square-foot structure served as Homer’s primary residence and workspace from 1884 until his 1910 death. From the Studio’s second-story balcony and from daily walks along the shore, Homer drew inspiration for his celebrated late marine paintings from the crashing surf and ever-changing weather along the Maine coast
portlandmuseum.org
Links
blog.clarkart.edu/...
MORE IMAGES OF W.HOMER
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