The Garden Gate, Bahamas
Artist
Winslow Homer
(American, 1836–1910)
Date1885
Mediumwatercolor over graphite on medium, smooth off-white wove paper
Dimensions53.3 x 37 cm (21 x 14 9/16 in.)
ClassificationsWatercolors
Credit LineBequest of Miss Miriam Shaw
Object number1983.26
Label TextHomer traveled to Nassau in the Bahamas on assignment from the popular periodical Century Magazine to create illustrations for an article entitled Midwinter Resort. Instead of the popular vacation spots, Homer focused his attention on the everyday lives of the local black population. In works such as The Garden Gate, Bahamas, Homer shows two women gathering fruit, probably to sell to the white families living behind coral limestone walls like the one featured here. Without becoming polemical about race relations, Homer acknowledged the social structure of the islands.
Homer responded to the bright light of the Bahamas by leaving more of his paper blank, painting very thinly, and minimizing detail. His palette also became brighter; the wall in this work was originally a purple-red, but it has faded to its present color. These developments seemed markedly different to the art writers who had grown accustomed to his earlier, more finished looking watercolors. One such critic wrote, they should not be considered as pictures, but they may be much enjoyed as sketches.
Provenance(Doll and Richard, Boston, 1886); father of Miss Miriam Shaw; Boston, MAOn View
Not on view
