Prout's Neck, Rocky Shore

Artist Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910)

Date1883

Mediumtransparent and opaque watercolor, with scraping and masking out, on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper

Dimensions29.5 x 50.5 cm (11 5/8 x 19 13/16 in.)

ClassificationsWatercolors

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1911.16

Label TextUpon returning from England, Homer settled at Prout's Neck, Maine. The painter's new home represented a retreat from society in the opinion of one art critic, who described Prout's Neck in 1885 as a place where Homer could keep out of the way of the world, against which he seems to have a grudge. The rocky coast provided the perfect setting for the dramatic images of nature that increasingly interested the artist. In Homer's mature oil paintings, the sea is often represented as a challenging place of struggle. The lessons learned while working in Cullercoats continue to show in the work of this period. Homer became confident in allowing the paint to flow in very wet passages, and he built layers of thin washes of color on top of one another. Homer also worked subtractively, scraping paint to allow the white of the paper to form such highlights as the foamy water in the foreground of this watercolor. ProvenanceEstate of the artist; (E.L. Knoedler, New York);

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