Art Institute of Chicago

The Outlook, Maine Coast

Winslow Homer

Date

1894

Medium

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

Culture

United States

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The Outlook, Maine Coast depicts two young women bracing themselves against the wind on a high overlook at Prout’s Neck, Maine. Rather than focusing on what the women are watching, Homer chose to explore the act of looking. Homer, a keen and thoughtful observer himself, was fascinated with the experience of watching. In this watercolor, he associated visual observation with physical sensations: the feeling of strong breezes, moisture in the air, and the chill of an overcast day. Because it allowed Homer to work outdoors quickly, watercolor was the perfect medium to make these atmospheric effects tangible and immediate. In The Outlook, Maine Coast , Homer was especially successful in creating the sense of moving air. The low vantage point also contributes to the emphasis on the windy sky of gray and pink clouds.

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