Winslow Homer, The Lifeline. © Philadelphia Museum of Art
In America Winslow Homer (1836-1910) is as famous as Whistler or Singer Sargent but in the UK many people have never seen his vibrant watercolours and dramatic oil paintings.
This is about to change as the Dulwich Picture Gallery is hosting an exhibition of his work until May 21 2006.
“This is the first retrospective display of Homer’s painting in Britain, indeed in Europe,” said Ian Dejardin, Gallery Director. “The gallery is delighted to welcome so many pictures on loan from the United States. In the USA, Winslow Homer is an icon, a household name”
Winslow Homer, A Fresh Breeze c. 1881. © Museum of Fine Arts Boston
An American painter through and through, Homer did however spend time in the UK between 1880-81 and it is this work that is displayed in the exhibition.
He made a temporary home for himself in Northumberland and whilst there painted the dramatic seascapes of the spectacular coastline. Interestingly, he painted not only the sea, but also the people who went about their work on and by the sea.
Homer had always painted the sea, but as Dulwich’s exhibition claims, it was his time in the North East of England that inspired him to communicate the sea’s social message.
Winslow Homer, Beach Scene, 1881.
Paintings show humans interacting with the ocean for pleasure or for work. Sometimes they celebrate the sea; sometimes they are threatened by its raw power.
There’s a depth to Homer’s watercolours. Rather than tea stains and faint washes, Homer really paints with his watercolour, daubing the paint onto the canvas with gusto.
His oils also convey a genuine sense of the sea’s movement; its ripples, its waves, its reflective quality. A technical study of a breaking wave shows how he grappled with the problem of how to capture in a static painting something so fluid and which moves so quickly. The resulting pictures make the painting look easy – a feat in itself.
Winslow Homer, Sharks, 'also the the derelict', 1885. © Brooklyn Museum, gift of the Estate of Helen B Sanders
This exhibition highlights his time in the North East as a turning point in his career. His time in Britain affected his choice of composition and there are some dramatic paintings.
Not only do we now see the swirling skies and tumbling waves of the coastline, but also the washerwomen, fishermen and boys messing about in boats.
The exhibition text informs us that every picture of Homer’s tells a story and it’s certainly true of all the work displayed here.
Whether it is the people or the naked seascapes, all of these paintings have depth. Perhaps that’s why this exhibition describes him as the Poet of the Sea.
