Winslow Homer

1836 - 1910

American (Boston, Massachusetts - Prouts Neck, Maine)

Winslow Homer is most known for the realistic seascapes from later in his career. Largely self-taught, Homer primarily explored oil-painting and watercolor. He spent his youth in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he moved at a young age. His mother, an artist herself, encouraged him to pursue his artistic interests, and at the age of 19 he was apprenticed to a lithographic firm in Boston. Homer’s first work as an artist was as an illustrator. These pieces largely focused on leisure time among the American upper classes, depicting women’s and children’s free time. He also was an artist correspondent for Harper’s magazine during the Civil War, distinguishing himself from others in the field by creating images focused on the daily life of soldiers. Throughout this entire
period, Homer worked tirelessly to improve his oil painting, and switched entirely to the brush in 1875. His paintings focused on nature, and he pulled much of his inspiration in his later years from various trips to the Caribbean and the North Woods Club in upstate New York. By the 1890s, Homer was regarded as a leading American painter and his work was highly celebrated.