Winslow Homer
Biography
Winslow Homer is perhaps one of the most celebrated American artists of the 19th century.
He was a prolific painter who began to be recognized as an influential artist at the age of 27 A maturity of feeling, depth of perception, and mastery of technique which was immediately recognized. He supported himself as a freelance artist throughout his life with humble beginnings as an illustrator.
Thematically his works are solidified by a meditative rigor that is visible in his printmaking, watercolor, and oil painting technique. “You can’t get along without a knowledge of the principles and rules governing the influence of one color upon another,” Homer said of painting likening it to a mechanic working without tools.
Homer’s work, especially his watercolors, would go on to influence later American painters, including Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper.
Homer led a reclusive life, withholding personal matters from the public.
Born: 1836
Died: 1910
Education: National Academy of Design, The Art Students League of New York
Collections
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, United States
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, United States