"Homer had a curious knack of striking the authentic American note."
-Paul Johnson
"The wildest scenes had become unaccountably familiar. I found in
myself, and still find, an instinct toward a higher, or, as it is named,
spiritual life, as do most men, and another toward a primitive rank and savage
one, and I reverence them both. I love the wild not less than the good."
-Winslow Homer, "Higher Laws"
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The Adirondack Guide, 1894, watercolor, MFA
Homer began painting with watercolors on a regular basis in 1873. From the beginning, his technique was natural, fluid and confident, demonstrating his talent for a difficult medium. His impact would be revolutionary. But the critics were at first confused, "A child with an ink bottle could not have done worse.", wrote one critic. As a result of various disappointments, Homer became reclusive in the late 1870s, living outside society in Gloucester. For a while, he even lived in a secluded lighthouse.
Winslow Homer's moody watercolor 'Adirondack Lake.' Harvard College
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| 'Boy Fishing' 1892, watercolor, San Antonio Museum of Art |
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| 'The Red Canoe', 1889, watercolor, Peabody Collection |
Adirondack Lake, 1889 |
On this page I have selected watercolors with a single theme, solitary men hunting or fishing in small boats.