Contents
Winslow Homer
Painting American life and the sea with striking realism and force.
The Veteran in a New Field · Snap the Whip
- Born
- 24 February 1836
- Birthplace
- Boston, United States
- Died
- 29 September 1910
More people
Winslow Homer
American painter and watercolourist who moved from magazine illustration and Civil War reporting to powerful coastal scenes.
Early life
Massachusetts upbringing
Born in Boston and raised in Cambridge; his mother was an amateur watercolourist.
Print training
Worked as a lithographer’s apprentice before becoming a freelance illustrator.
Career
- 1859–1860s
Illustration and war
Moved to New York and covered the Civil War for Harper’s Weekly.
- 1870s
Independent painter
Developed oil painting and watercolour, eventually leaving commercial illustration.
- 1881–1910
Coastal work
Worked in Cullercoats, England, then settled at Prouts Neck in Maine.
Selected work
The Veteran in a New Field
A returning soldier harvests wheat after the Civil War.
Snap the Whip
Schoolboys play together in a rural landscape.
The Gulf Stream
A man faces sharks and rough water aboard a damaged boat; Homer later reworked the painting.
Beyond work
Travel and fishing
Trips to the Caribbean, Florida and Canada supplied subjects for watercolours.
A private life
Preferred increasing solitude in Maine and never married.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and references ↗Biography and contributions ↗Photo: Napoleon Sarony. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
