Winslow Homer

The landscapes and marine paintings of Winslow Homer are among the most recognizable works of 19th-century American art. His watercolors, especially, are prized for their lucid depictions of the rugged New England coast and its tribes of fishermen and working women.

Homer began his career as an illustrator and a Civil War artist-correspondent, acquiring strong graphic skills that are evident in his later paintings. Trips to France and England helped him transition into fine art, but his mature subject matter and stoic attitude were quintessentially American. In his later years he lived in relative isolation in remote Prout's Neck, Maine, where he produced the churning seascapes that many regard as his finest works.

He has been the focus of numerous museum exhibitions, and is included in many important collections of American art.