The life and works of Winslow Homer

Front matter

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF WINSLOW HOMER

PORTIL^IT OF WINSLOW HOMER AT THE AGE

OF SEVENTY-TWO

CHAPTER I. The Artist and the Man

Winslow Homer's Chief Titles to Fame — His Individuality and Aniericanism — Tlie Poetry of Real Life — Single-mindedness — Painter of the Ocean — Adverse Criticism — Personal Character and Traits — Kindness and Charity — Love of Flowers — Sense of Humor 3

CHAPTER II. Early Days in Boston and Cambridge

The Homer Family — Winslow Homer's Parents — His Birthplace— Removal to Cambridge — School Days — Juvenile Drawings— "Beetle and Wedge" — Apprenticed to Bufford — First Drawings Published — Studio in Boston 21

CHAPTER III. New York — The Great War

Studio in Nassau Street — Studio in the University Building, Washington Square — Bohemian Life — His Friends — Lincoln's Inauguration — McClellan's Peninsular Campaign — First Oil Paintings — "The Sharpshooter on Picket Duty" — "Rations" — "Defiance" — " Home, Sweet Home" — "The Last Goose at Yorktown " • 34

CHAPTER IV. Early Works

Pictures of Camp Life — Made an Academician — "The Bright Side " — "Pitching Quoits " — " Prisoners from the Front ' ' — First Voyage to Europe — What he did not do — -"The Sail- Boat" — Drawings for " Every Saturday " 51 viii CONTENTS

CHAPTER V. Life in the Country. 1 872-1 876. ^tat. 36-40. Studio in West Tenth Street — "New England Country School"

— " Snap the Whip" — A Summer on Ten-Pound Island — The Gloucester Watercolors — Urban Subjects — Last of the ' ' Harper' s Weekly " Drawings — " The Two Guides" — Relations with La Farge 69

CHAPTER VL Among the Negroes.

"The Visit from the Old Mistress" — "Sunday Morning in Virginia" — "The Carnival" — An Episode in Petersburg — The Model who Ran Away — The Houghton Farm Watercolors

— ' ' The Shepherdess of Houghton Farm " — " The Camp Fire ' '

— Gloucester again — Homer's Mastery in Composition . . . 85

CHAPTER Vn. Tynemouth — The English Series.

The Dwelling at Cullercoates — "Watching the Tempest" — - " Perils of the Sea " — "A Voice from the Cliffs " — " Inside the Bar " — A Turning- Point in the Artist's Career — Watercolors Dealing with Storms and Shipwrecks 99

CHAPTER VHL Prout's Neck.

How the Homer Brothers discovered and developed a Summer Resort in Maine — Description of the Place — Winslow Homer's Studio — His Garden — His Way of Living — Identification of his Masterpieces with Prout's Neck 109

CHAPTER IX. "The Life Line."

The Story-Telling Picture — Sources of Prejudice against it — Various Comments on and Descriptions of " The Life Line" — Exhibitions in Boston — An Anecdote of a Commission for a Picture which was declined 1 20

CONTENTS ix

CHAPTER X. Nassau and Cuba.

A Winter in the Bahamas and the South Coast of Cuba — The Color of the Tropics — "Searchlight, Harbor Entrance, Santiago de Cuba " — " The Gulf Stream ' ' — Later Trips to Nassau, Bermuda and Florida 128

CHAPTER XI. Marine Pieces with Figures.

"The Fog Warning" — " Lost on the Grand Banks " — " Hark! the Lark " — " Undertow " — " Eight Bells " — The Genesis of a Deep-Sea Classic . . -137

CHAPTER XII. Etchings — Paintings of the Early Nineties.

The Series of Reproducdons of his Own Paintings — "Cloud Shadows" — "The West Wind" — "Signal of Distress" — "Summer Night" — "Huntsman and Dogs" — "Coast in Winter" 150

CHAPTER XIII. Milestones on the Road of Art.

Honors at the World's Columbian Exposition — "The Fox Hunt" — " Storm-Beaten " — " Below Zero " — " High Cliff, Coast of Maine " — " Moonlight, Wood Island Light " — Adirondacks Watercolors . . .165

CHAPTER XIV. The Portable Painting-house.

" Northeaster " — " Cannon Rock " — The First Journey to the Province of Quebec — "The Lookout — All's Well!" — " Maine Coast " — " The Wreck " — " Watching the Breakers "

— Honors at Pittsburgh and Philadelphia — " Hauling in Anchor "

— Mr. Turner's Reminiscences of Homer 176

X CONTENTS

CHAPTER XV. The Great Climacteric.

Reminiscences of Mr. Bixbee — Winslow Homer and his Father

— On the Pittsburg Jury — "Flight of Wild Geese" — "A Light on the Sea" — Sale of the Clarke Collection — Honors in Paris — "Eastern Point" — "On a Lee Shore" — Letters —

A Shipwreck 198

CHAPTER XVI. The O'B. Picture. 1901-1903. ^tat. 65-67.

The Process of Making the "Early Morning after Storm at Sea"

— A Peep behind the Scenes — A Lesson in Etiquette — The Temple Gold Medal — Off for Key West 212

CHAPTER XVn. Hours of Despondency.

" Kissing the Moon ' ' — An Unfinished Picture — Atlantic City — Advancing Age — " I no longer paint " — " Early Evening " — "Cape Trinity" — -The Loan Exhibition in Pittsburg — First Serious Sickness — Letters 223

CHAPTER XVni. Incidents of the Last Years.

Aversion for Notoriety — The Rubber-Stamp Signature — Characteristic Sayings — Mural Paintings — " Right and Left " — " Driftwood"— Foreign Opinion — Dread of Counterfeiters — Mr. Macbeth' s Visit — Questions that were never Answered . . .237

CHAPTER XIX. Homer's Death. 19 10. ^tat. 74.

The Last Sickness — Heart Failure — A Glorious Passing — The Funeral — Burial Place at Mount Auburn — His Will — The Memorial Exhibitions of 1 9 1 1 in New York and Boston — The Verdict 250

CONTENTS xi list of Pictures by Winslow Homer exhibited in the Exhibitions of the National Academy of Design, New York, from 1863 to 1910 276

List of Watercolors by Winslow Homer exhibited at the Exhibitions of the American Watercolor Society, New York, from 1867 to 1909 278

list of Oil Paintings by Winslow Homer exhibited at the Exhibitions of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, from 1888 to 1910 282

List of Works exhibited by Winslow Homer in the Exhibitions of the Society of American Artists, New York, from 1897 to 1903 . 283

List of Oil Paintings and Watercolors by Winslow Homer in the CoDection of Mr. Thomas B. Clarke of New York . . . .283

List of Works in the Loan Exhibition of Oil Paintings by Winslow Homer held at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in May and June, I908 285

List of Works in the ^'inslow Homer Memorial Exhibition held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, February 6 to March 19, 191 1 286

List of Works in the ^^^inslow Homer Memorial Exhibition held

in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, February 7 to March 1,1911 288

INDEX 297

ILLUSTRATIONS

PORTR.\IT OF VVINSLOW HOMER AT THE AGE

OF SEVENTY-TWO Frontispiece

From a photograph takers at Front's Neck, Maine, in igo8. Photogravure

BEETLE AND WEDGE; OR, THE YOUTH OF

C. S. H. Page 4

Pencil drawing made hy the artist at the age of eleven, the earliest of his works now in existence. Made at Cambridge in 184J. By permission of Mr. Arthur B. Homer, Quincy, Massachusetts

PORTR.\IT OF WINSLOW HOMER AT THE AGE

OF TWENTY-ONE 8

Pencil drawing made in Boston from life in 18 57 by Joseph E. Baker. By permission of Mrs. Joseph De Camp

PORTRAIT OF WINSLOW HOMER AT THE AGE

OF FORTY-TWO 12

From a photograph taken by Sarony in 1878. Courtesy of Mr. Charles S. Homer

PORTRAIT OF WINSLOW HOMER AT ABOUT

THE AGE OF THIRTY-FOUR 12

Courtesy of the New York Herald

A FAMILY GROUP: THE HOMERS AT PROUT'S

NECK 12

From a photogrccph taken in i8g6. {Charles Savage Homer, Senior, Charles Savage Homer, Junior, Winslow Homer, Arthur B. Homer, Arthur P. Homer, Charles L. Homer)

xiv ILLUSTRATIONS

WINSLOW HOMER AND HIS FATHER AND HIS

DOG SAM 1 6

From a photograph taken at Front's Neck by S. Towle. Courtesy of Mr. C. S. Homer

A GOOD CATCH: WINSLOW AND CHARLES S.

HOMER RETURNING FROM A DAY'S FISH- ING i6

From a photograph. Courtesy of Mr. Charles S. Homer

AN IMPROMPTU LECTURE ON ART: WINSLOW

HOMER AND HIS MAN-SERVANT LEWIS 20

From a photograph

PORTRAIT OF WINSLOW HOMER IN HIS STU- DIO AT PROUT'S NECK, SCARBORO, MAINE 20 From a photograph. Taken while he was painting " The Gulf Stream"

WINSLOW HOMER AND HIS STONE WALL 24

From a photograph taken at Front's Neck, December 2, igo2. On the back of the original print is written, in the artist's own handwriting: "Photo of stone wall built by Winslow Homer. Taken on Dec. 2, igo2. This poor old man seen here is Winslow Homer, Scarboro, Me." {Rubber stamp signature.) Courtesy of Mr. William V. O'Brien, Chicago

THE STUDIO AT PROUT'S NECK 24

From photographs taken in 1910. The east and the southwest views

MOUNT WASHINGTON 28

From the oil painting in the collection of Mrs. W. H. S. Pearce, Newton, Massachusetts. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

ILLUSTRATIONS xv

FEEDING THE CHICKENS 28

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Arthur B. Homer. Painted at Belmont, Massachusetts, about 1S58. The model for the figure was the present owner of the picture. Photograph by Chester A . Lawrence, Boston

MILITARY PASS ISSUED TO WINSLOW HOMER FROM THE PROVOST MARSHAL'S OFFICE IN WASHINGTON, APRIL i, 1862 34

Courtesy of Mr. Arthur B. Homer

RATIONS 38

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. E. H. Bernheimer, New York

THE BRIGHT SIDE 38

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. W. A. White

A WINTER MORNING — SHOVELING OUT 42

From a drawing engraved on wood by G. A. Avery for Every Saturday, Boston, January 14, 1871

CUTTING A FIGURE 42

From a drawing engraved on wood by W. H. Morse for Every Saturday, Boston, February 4, 1871

GATHERING BERRIES 46

From a drawing engraved on wood for Harper's Weekly, July II, 1874

A COUNTRY STORE — GETTING WEIGHED 46

From a drawing engraved on wood by W. J. Linton for Every Saturday, Boston, March 25, 1871

FLIRTING ON THE SEASHORE AND ON THE

MEADOW 46

From a drawing engraved on wood for Harper's Weekly, September ig, 1874 xvi ILLUSTRATIONS

SNAP THE WHIP 52

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Richard H. Ewart, New York

GLOUCESTER HARBOR 56

From the drawing in the collection of Mr. Horace D. Chapin, Boston. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

GLOUCESTER HARBOR 56

From the watercolor belonging to the Edward W. Hooper estate, Boston. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

BOYS SWIMMING 60

From the drawing belonging to the Edward W. Hooper estate, Boston. Photograph by Chester A . Lawre?zce

BOY WITH SCYTHE 60

From the drawing belonging to the Edward W. Hooper estate, Boston. Photograph by Chester A . Lawrence.

RAID ON A SAND-SWALLOW COLONY — "HOW

MANY EGGS?" 64

From a drawing engraved on wood for Harper's Weekly, Jime 13, 1874

WAITING FOR A BITE 68

From a drawing on wood by Lagarde for Harper's Weekly, August 22, 1874

SEESAW — GLOUCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS 68

From a drawing engraved on wood for Harper's Weekly, September 12, 1874

THE SAND DUNE 72

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Arthur B. Homer. Painted at Marshfield, Massachusetts. Winslow Homer's mother posed for the figure. Photograph by Chester A . Lawrence, Boston

ILLUSTRATIONS xvii

ON THE BEACH AT MARSHFIELD 72

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Arthur B. Homer. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence, Boston

THE CARNIVAL 76

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. N. C. Matthews, Baltimore, Maryland

THE VISIT FROM THE OLD MISTRESS 76

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of A rt, Washington. William T. Evans' gift

A HAPPY FAMILY IN VIRGINIA 80

From the oil painting in the collection of Colonel Frank J. Hecker, Detroit

LITTLE ARTHUR IN FEAR OF HARMING A

WORM 84

From the drawing in the collection of Mr. Arthur B. Homer. Photograph by Chester A . Lawrence, Boston

LITTLE CHARLIE'S INNOCENT AMUSEMENTS 84 From the drawing in the collection of Mr. Arthur B. Homer. Photograph by Chester A . Lawrence, Boston

THE HONEYMOON (MR. AND MRS. A. B. HOMER) 84 From the drawing in the collection of Mr. Arthur B. Homer. Made at Kettle Cove, Prout's Neck, Maine, 1875. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence, Boston

FISHERWOMEN, TYNEMOUTH 88

From the drawing in the collection of Mr. William Howe Downes. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence, Boston

WATCHING THE TEMPEST 88

From the watercolor in the collection of Mr. Burton Mansfield, New Haven, Connecticut xviii ILLUSTRATIONS

PERILS OF THE SEA 92

From the etching by Winslow Homer, after his watercolor in the collection of Mr. Alexander C. Hiimphreys, M.E., Sc.D., LL.D., President of the Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point, Hoboken, New Jersey. Copyright by C. Klackner, New York

MENDING NETS; OR, FAR FROM BILLINGSGATE 96

From the watercolor in the collection of Mr. Charles W. Gould, New York

SHIPWRECK 100

Fro7n the drawing in the collection of Mrs. Roger S. Warner, Boston. {Inscribed: " Wreck of the Iron Crown, Tynemouth, Oct. 25, 1881.") Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

FISHERWOMAN, TYNEMOUTH 100

From the watercolor belonging to the Edward W. Hooper estate, Boston. Photograph by Chester A . Lawrence

RETURNING FISHING BOATS 104

From the watercolor in the collection of Mr. Horace D. Chapin, Boston. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

STORM ON THE ENGLISH COAST 104

From the watercolor in the collection of Mrs. Roger S. Warner, Boston. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

STORM AT SEA no

From the drawing in the collection of Mrs. Roger S. Warner, Boston. Photograph by Chester A . Lawrence

THREE GIRLS no

From the drawing in the collection of Mrs. Roger S. Warner, Boston. Photograph by Chester A . Lawrence

From the etching by Winslow Homer, after his oil paint-

ILLUSTRATIONS xix

ing in the collection of Mr. G. W. Elkins. Copyright by C. Klackner, New York

GOING BERRYING Ii8

From the watercolor in the collection of Mr. Horace D. Chapin, Boston. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

BAHAMA Ii8

From the watercolor belonging to the Edward W. Hooper estate, Boston. Photograph by Chester A . Lawrence

ILLUSTRATION TO WILLIAM CULLEN BRY- ANT'S POEM, "THE FOUNTAIN" ii8

ON THE FENCE ii8

From the watercolor in the collection of Mr. William Howe Downes. Painted at Houghton Farm, Mountainville, New York, in i8j8. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence, Boston

CUSTOM HOUSE, SANTIAGO DE CUBA 122

Fro'in the watercolor in the collection of Mrs. Roger S. Warner, Boston. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

UNDER A PALM TREE 122

From the watercolor in the collection of Mr. F. Rockefeller, Cleveland, Ohio

MARKET SCENE, NASSAU 122

From the watercolor in the collection of Mr. R. A. Thompson

THE GULF STREAM 126

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

THE FOG WARNING 130

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

XX ILLUSTRATIONS

BANKS FISHERMEN; OR, THE HERRING NET 134 From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Charles W. Gould, New York

HARK! THE LARK 138

From the photogravure, copyright by Winslow Homer and published by C. Klackner, New York, after the oil painting in the permanent collection of the Lay ton Art Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

UNDERTOW 142

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Edward D. Adams, New York

EIGHT BELLS 146

From a wood engraving by Henry Wolf, after the oil painting by Winslow Homer in the collection of Mr. Edward T. Stotesbury, Philadelphia. Courtesy of the Century Company, New York

TO THE RESCUE 150

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Thomas L. Manson, Jr., New York

MOONLIGHT, WOOD ISLAND LIGHT 150

From the oil painting in the collection of Air. George A . Hearn, New York

ROWING HOMEWARD 154

From a watercolor

CLOUD SHADOWS 154

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. R. C. Hall, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

SUMMER SQUALL 158

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Morris J. Hirsch, New York

ILLUSTRATIONS xxi

SUNLIGHT ON THE COx-^ST 158

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. John G. Johnson, Philadelphia

THE WEST WIND 162

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Samuel Untermeyer, New York

THE SIGNAL OF DISTRESS 166

From the oil painting in the collection of Air. Edward T. Stotesbury, Philadelphia

A SUMMER NIGHT 170

From the oil painting in the Luxembourg Museum, Paris

HOUND AND HUNTER 174

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Louis Ettlinger, New York

HUNTSMAN AND DOGS 178

From the oil painting in the collection of Mrs. Bancel La Farge

THE TWO GUIDES 178

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. C. J. Blair, Chicago

THE FOX HUNT 182

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. By permission. Copyright by Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine A rts

BELOW ZERO 186

From the oil painting in the possession of M. Knoedler and Company

WEATHER-BEATEN; OR, STORM-BEATEN 186

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. F. S. Smithers, New York xxil ILLUSTRATIONS

ON THE CLIFF i86

From the ivatercolor in the collection oj Mr. Thomas L. Manson, Jr., New York

HIGH CLIFF, COAST OF MAINE 190

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the National Gallery, Washington, D. C. Gift of Air. William T. Evans

THE FISHER GIRL 194

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Burton Mansfield, New Haven, Connecticut

SALMON FISHING 198

Fro77i the watercolor in the collection of Colonel Frank J. Hecker, Detroit

ADIRONDACKS 198

From the watercolor belonging to the Edward W. Hooper estate, Boston. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

WATERFALL, ADIRONDACKS 202

From the watercolor ijt the collection of Mr. Charles L. Freer, Detroit

NORTHEASTER 206

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

CANNON ROCK 212

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

SHOOTING THE RAPIDS 216

From the watercolor in the collection of Mrs. J. J. Storrow Boston. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

THE PORTAGE 216

From the watercolor in the collection of Mr. Desmond

ILLUSTRATIONS xxiii

FitzGerald, Brookline, Massachusetts. Photograph by Chester A. Lawrence

THE LOOKOUT — ALL'S WELL 220

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

FAC-SIMILE OF A LETTER FROM WINSLOW

HOjNIER to the AUTHOR 224

THE MAINE COAST 228

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. George A . Hearn, New York

THE WRECK 232

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

WATCHING THE BREAKERS: A HIGH SEA 236

From the oil painting in the collection of Mrs. H. W. Rogers

HAULING IN ANCHOR 240

Watercolor in the permanent collection of the Cincinnati Museum Association. Painted at Key West

A LIGHT ON THE SEA 240

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington

RIGHT AND LEFT 244

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Randal Morgan, Philadelphia

FLIGHT OF WILD GEESE 244

From the oil painting in the collection of Mrs. Roland C. Lincoln, Boston. Photograph by Baldwin Coolidge

ON A LEE SHORE 248

From the oil painting in the permanent collection of the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island xxiv ILLUSTRATIONS

EARLY MORNING AFTER STORM AT SEA 253

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. W. K. Bixby, Saint Louis

KISSING THE MOON; OR, SUNSET AND MOON- RISE 256 From the oil painting in the collection of Dr. Lewis A . Stimson, New York

EARLY EVENING 260

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Charles L. Freer, Detroit

CAPE TRINITY, SAGUENAY RIVER 264

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Burton Mansfield, New Haven, Connecticut

DRIFTWOOD 264

From the oil painting in the collection of Mr. Frank L. Bahbott, Brooklyn, N. Y.

RUM CAY, BERMUDA 266

From the watercolor in the permanent collection of the Worcester Art Museum. Copyright, Detroit Publishing Company

BOYS AND KITTEN 266

From the watercolor in the permanent collection of the Worcester Art Museum. Copyright, Detroit Publishing Company

SHOOTING THE RAPIDS, SAGUENAY RIVER 270

From the unfinished oil painting, given to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, by Mr. Charles S. Homer, in iQii

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

IT is an agreeable task which the author of this volume has invited me to perform, the writing of a few lines of introduction to his book. It is especially pleasant because it affords me the opportunity to express briefly my high opinion of Winslow Homer's power as a painter and of the frank and forceful character of the man.

The dominating trait of Homer's character was honesty, and this priceless characteristic colored every act of his life and found abundant expression in his art. His mind operated in a direct and forceful manner, and sincerity was expressed in everything he did or said.

The basis of his art, I think, was simple truth ; and this qualit}'^, easily comprehended by all, was that which made Homer's paintings universally popular and easily understood. Truth, in whatever form, needs no explanation, being its own best interpreter.

No one, I think, was ever heard to talk about Homer's manner of painting, or about his technical skill, as of special importance. It was always the verity of the work, or the dignity and grandeur of the ocean, often expressed by him without apparent effort, but always in a perfectly direct and simple manner, which was the theme of conversation.

He approached nature as a child might, without a thought of displaying technical dexterity, and he transmitted or reproduced that which impressed him with simplicity and with a devotion akin to unquestioning reverence. Never did the thought of taking from or of adding to that which was his task seem to occur to him for a moment.

xxvi INTRODUCTORY NOTE

Notwithstanding this mental attitude, he was exacting to the last degree in the selection of the particular phase or effect of nature which he desired to reproduce. On one occasion he said : —

" The rare thing is to find a painter who knows a good thing when he sees it."

I also recall his statement that he had waited six months for the coming of a particular effect or expression of nature. To lie in wait for the rare or exceptional phase of nature, and especially the dramatic, and to reproduce with fidelity and power the effect waited for or discovered, seemed to be Homer's purpose, especially during the latter years of his life. Thus it is that many of his paintings represent the tempestuous ocean.

Indeed, when I knew him he was comparatively mdiflerent to the ordinary and peaceful aspects of the ocean, referring once to the sea as a "mill pond," as if it possessed little interest for him in that mood. But when the lowering clouds gathered above the horizon, and tumultuous waves ran along the rock-bound coast and up the shelving, precipitous rocks, his interest became intense.

There came one morning at Front's Neck, with a misty and threatening sky, when gray clouds, bewitching in their silvery tones, went hurrying across the troubled sea. By noon it was blowing a gale, and the waves were lashing the coast, sending spray high into the air. The driving rain slanted sharply under porch and awning, and the summer boarders gathered about wood fires, with complaining voices. Once and again, great clouds of mist drove across the deserted rocks, and the music of old ocean rose to an ominous and resounding tone. Nothing could have induced a soul to go forth, save only a mission of mercy ; but at three o'clock

INTRODUCTORY NOTE xxvii

Homer hurried into my room, robed from head to foot in rubber, and carrying in his arms a storm-coat and a pair of sailor's boots. " Come 1 " he said, " quickly ! It is perfectly grand I "

For an hour we clambered over rocks, holding fast to the wiry shrubs which grew from every crevice, while the spray dashed far overhead. This placid, reserved, self-contained litde man was in a fever of excitement, and his delight in the thrilling and almost overpowering expression of the ocean, as it foamed and rioted, was truly inspiring.

There comes to my mind an incident which will illustrate his unyielding attitude towards absolute truth. On the occasion of one of my visits to his home, we were picking our way along the coast, over the shelving rocks he painted so often and with such insight and power, when I suddenly said : —

" Mr. Homer, do you ever take the liberty, in painting nature, of modifying the color of any part ? "

The inquiry seemed to startle him. Arresting his steps for an instant, he firmly clenched his hand, and, bringing it down with a quick action, exclaimed : — -

" Never 1 Never I When I have selected the thing carefully, I paint it exactly as it appears." Turning towards his studio, and pointing to the gallery which hangs along the second story, he added: "When I was painting the Luxembourg picture, I carried the canvas, repeatedly, from the rocks below, hung it on that balcony, and studied it from a distance with reference solely to its simple and absolute truth. Never 1 " he reiterated, as we moved on in the direction of the sea.

Winslow Homer was extremely reluctant to express any opinion touching his art ; and indeed in the latter years of his life he rigorously avoided the subject. This frank and xxviii INTRODUCTORY NOTE

emphatic expression, which seemed to comprehend and express a profound conviction, was doubtless called forth by the apparent folly of my question. I will admit that the provocation was great, and that the query belied my innermost belief touching the essential quality in art.

Notwithstanding Homer's sturdy character, as illustrated by these incidents, there was another side of his nature. His intense fondness for flowers was but one expression of his gentler side. There could not be a more thoughtful host, and his solicitude and delicate attentions were almost womanly in their charm. Not a single morning passed by during my several visits when he did not present to me, with his greeting, a few flowers, and with the members of his family this was his daily custom.

He was reticent, probably morose to some extent, but never uncharitable. I do not recall a harsh criticism spoken by him in reference to the work of any fellow painter.

Not all of Homer's pictures are equal in technical qualities, but those of his later and most powerful period, among which may be included the " High Cliff, Coast of Maine," now in the National Gallery at Washington, are masterly works. He painted the inspiring grandeur and dignity of the ocean with a power not excelled by any painter in the entire history of art, and he has left a rich legacy and an inspiring record.

John W. Beatty.

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF WINSLOW HOMER

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF WINSLOW HOMER

Chapter I

Winslow Homer's Chief Tides to Fame — His Individuality and Americanism — The Poetry of Real Life — Single-mindedness — Painter of the Ocean — Adverse Criticism — Personal Character and Traits — Kindness and Charity — Love of Flowers — Sense of Humor.

THE life of Winslow Homer, as revealed in his works, is a study worthy of the serious attention of the historian and critic. I bring to this labor of love at least one valid qualification, that is to say, a lifelong interest in and enthusiastic admiration for his works.

Winslow Homer is an important figure in the annals of American art, and the period in which he lived and wrought, the last half of the nineteenth century, produced no American painter so thoroughly national in style and character. He was the most original American painter of that time, and at the same time the most representative. His art was intensely personal and intensely American. These two preeminent qualities are his chief titles to fame.

Through the last half of the nineteenth century American art was gradually finding itself. One of the results of the Civil War was a heightened national consciousness which found expression in art. George Inness, William Morris Hunt, John La Farge, Eastman Johnson, George Fuller, and

Augustus Saint-Gaudens are of the illustrious names which belong to this period. But none of these artists was either as individual or as national as Winslow Homer. His contribution is new, fresh, novel, has nothing of foreign tradition in it. It therefore marks a distinctly significant evolution, and takes a conspicuous place in a historic sense. Up to the time of Winslow Homer's appearance on the stage of events, our art had been in great measure a reflection of the European traditions. It did not lack cleverness, elegance, charm ; in individual instances it did not lack passion, power, poetry ; but — speaking in terms of broad generalization — it lacked a vernacular accent. It was, in a word, eclectic.

It is Winslow Homer's distinction that he was the first American painter to use an American idiom. Not only his subjects, but his manner of treating them ; not only his motives, but his point of view ; not only his material, but the style and sentiment in which he clothes it, have the stamp of Americanism indelibly impressed on them.

To say that his style is American, is to say that it is new, unrelated in its externals to the traditions of painting in Europe and Asia, though its content may be, of course, as old as the search for truth, which has always existed. It is an American trait to ignore the processes and experiences of. older races and communities, to try for results without studying into the means used by older civilizations in reaching the same goals ; and in some departments of human activity this trait must assuredly be set down as costly and foolish. But in the art of painting it has manifest advantages. One of these is the disciplinary effect of the independent and unaided struggle to invent the means of expression ; "he that overcometh shall inherit all things." The easy way is to acquire the trick of the trade from some