Art Institute of Chicago

The End of the Day, Adirondacks

Winslow Homer

Date

1890

Medium

Transparent watercolor, with traces of opaque watercolor, rewetting, blotting, and scraping, over traces of graphite, on moderately thick, rough-textured, ivory wove paper

Culture

United States

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The End of the Day, Adirondacks captures a fisherman’s introspective moment. Homer rendered the light from the setting sun with pale pink and orange washes, seen in the sky and reflected in the water. Foliage in the background and at the right side of the image is depicted abstractly, adding to the scene’s hazy atmosphere. This area shows signs of overwork, where Homer repeatedly removed and added color as he sought to soften the contours of the landscape, as if enveloped in the mist of evening. Characteristic of the artist’s working methods, he did not try to obscure the passage and chose to let it stand.

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