homer

Homer, Winslow born Feb. 24, 1836, Boston, Mass., U.S. died Sept. 29, 1910, Prouts Neck, Maine American painter whose works, particularly those on marine subjects, are among the most powerful and expressive of late 19th-century American art. His mastery of sketching and watercolour lends to his oil paintings the invigorating spontaneity of direct observation from nature (e.g., in “The Gulf Stream,” 1899). His subjects, often deceptively simple on the surface, dealt in their most serious moments with the …

…pure seascape, his late paintings, in their unconventional composition and brilliant colour, reflect increasing concern with the abstract and expressive possibilities of art. Homer died in his Prouts Neck studio in 1910. Although by the 1890s he had become generally recognized as one of the leading American painters, and his work brought top prices, his passing was but briefly noted, and appreciation of his artistic achievement came only in the years following his death. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**