The Gale

Artist Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910)

Date1883–1893

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 30 1/4 x 48 5/16 in. (76.8 x 122.7 cm)
frame: 46 1/4 × 63 1/2 × 7 in. (117.5 × 161.3 × 17.8 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1916.48

Label TextEarly in his career, in the 1870s, Homer was widely admired for depictions of the Civil War and for idyllic scenes of rural America. The tenor of his work changed decisively, however, during a two-year stay (1881-83) in the English village of Tynemouth on the coast of the North Sea. In both watercolor and oil Homer now focused on the fisherfolk who braved the dangerous sea to earn their spare livelihood. The subject of a robust fisherwoman facing the elements with her baby strapped to her back fits squarely within this theme of man's struggle against natural forces. The present work was first painted in Tynemouth and exhibited in 1883 as 'The Coming Away of the Gale' at the National Academy of Design in New York City. Probably because the original composition incurred unfavorable criticism, Homer kept it for nearly a decade at his studio in Prout's Neck, Maine, before reworking the canvas. By the time The Gale was shown at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, receiving high acclaim, Homer's reputation as one of America's foremost artists was secure. Homer arrived in New York committed to the themes that so occupied him while in England: robust figures set against an unforgiving natural world. The first painting he exhibited upon his return was this canvas, which initially included a boat and a life brigade house in the background. The painting’s original size—nearly 3 by 4-1/2 feet, larger than anything Homer had painted before—suggests that he saw it as his masterwork. When it was shown at the National Academy in 1883, however, critics were only lukewarm in their assessment. As a result, Homer cut down the canvas and altered the painting to remove the boat and brigade house, and to focus attention on the figures of the woman and her child. This amended version, which was first exhibited at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, speaks more directly to the destructive indifference of nature than the original composition. ProvenanceSnedecor & Co., New York NY

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