Crab Fishing

Artist Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910)

Date1883

Mediumwatercolor and opaque watercolor, over graphite, with scraping out, on medium thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper

Dimensionssheet: 14 5/8 x 21 13/16 in. (37.3 x 55.6 cm)

ClassificationsWatercolors

MarkingsWatermark: J WHATMAN (?)

Credit LineBequest of Grenville H. Norcross

Terms

Object number1937.13

Label TextIn 1881-1882 Homer spent twenty months in Cullercoats, England, a fishing village on the North Sea. The artist was an attentive student of everyday life in this village and captured the inhabitants' life on shore and at sea. As an example of Homer's careful observations, he carefully rendered the lines and equipment of specific boats, such as the coble--a Northumbrian vessel--depicted in this watercolor. Homer's technique continued to develop during his stay in England. He drew attention to the figures by rendering them in greater detail than their surroundings; foreground and background are similarly contrasted by distinct strokes in the water and large, wet fields of color in the sky. Homer also learned to remove watercolor from the sheet by scraping, sponging, and blotting previously applied colors. These techniques are evident, for example, in the drips of water falling from the trap, which were achieved by rewetting and blotting paint from the page. By scraping away washes of color, Homer created room to add the trap and oar to the composition. Throughout his life Homer continued to refine and adapt his technique as the needs of his subject demanded. The finely modeled figures in the fishing boat contrast with Homer’s treatment of the sky and water. He used layered, transparent washes to create the misty atmosphere of a still sea. For highlights—such as the water streaming from the hoisted crab trap—Homer scratched into the surface of the watercolor, allowing the bright white of the paper to show through. ProvenanceDoll and Richards, Boston, 1883); Miss L. Norcross, 1883; Grenville H. Norcross, Boston, by 1911;

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