Winslow Homer was born February 24th, 1836 in Boston, MA. He is regarded as one of the greatest American painters of the 19th century and created 145 artworks. He produced a broad range of work in illustration, oil painting and watercolor. Many of his artworks were from places he visited. From the Civil War battlefields where he documented the war to the desolate coast of Portland Maine.

One of his most nostalgic oil paintings, Snap the Whip, was created in 1872. The portrait depicts the simplicity of rural life as a group of children play crack the whip in front of a red schoolhouse. Homer spent summers in New York’s Hudson Valley and was inspired to paint this scene by local boys playing.

The work that defined his style was not undertaken until his middle age – after the age of forty-five when he settled into a solitary life in his coastal home and studio in Prouts Neck Maine.

His artwork depicted marine scenes, the rugged coastline and tumultuous sea which was inspired by the setting in which he spent the rest of his life.

In 1910, Homer died at the age of 74 in his Prouts Neck studio. His Shooting the Rapids, Saguenay River remains unfinished, however sheds insight on his painting process.

“Look at nature, work independently, and solve your own problems.”
– Winslow Homer

Sources:
mainepreservation.org
Wikipedia.com

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