The Swing

Artist/Culture Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910)

Date1879?

Mediumwatercolor over graphite on medium thick, smooth cream wove paper

Dimensions18.4 x 24.6 cm (7 1/4 x 9 11/16 in.)

ClassificationsWatercolors

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Howard W. Preston in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Loring Holms Dodd

Terms

watercolor

Object number1969.128

Label TextChildhood remained an important theme in Homer's work throughout the 1870s. Summer vacations to Houghton Farm (1878), the country home of one of the artist's steadiest patrons in Mountainville, New York, and to West Townsend, Massachusetts (1879) provided ample subjects of children at play in rural settings. Although some early critics rejected Homer's loosely drawn watercolors, he continued to paint in this manner. In fact, Homer was increasingly using thin washes, which added a greater sense of spontaneity to his work. This looser approach replaced his prior technique of alternating transparent and opaque colors. By the time this watercolor was completed, art critics were beginning to see Homer's broadly applied washes as a virtue, entirely homemade and [unique] to American soil. ProvenanceThe artist; James F. Sutton, New York; Dr. Edward J. Davin; (Am. Art Assoc. Anderson Galleries, New York, Jan. 23, 1936); (Babcock Galleries, New York, 1936); (Robert C. Vose Galleries, Boston, 1936); Dr. and Mrs. Loring Holmes Dodd, Worcester, 1936-68; Mrs. Howrad W. Preston, Cranston, RI, 1968-69;

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