Art Institute of Chicago

Tynemouth Priory, England

Winslow Homer

Date

1881

Medium

Transparent watercolor, with traces of opaque watercolor, rewetting, blotting and touches of scraping, over graphite, on thick, rough-textured, cream wove paper (top and lower edges trimmed)

Culture

United States

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

During his 1881-82 stay in England, Homer settled in the small fishing village of Cullercoats. He often depicted fisherfolk in the village and neighboring areas, as in Tynemouth Priory, England , in which a woman and two fishermen occupy a coble that is floating in choppy waters off the coast, and a fisherman wearing yellow gear is busy hauling in a net, presumably filled with the day's catch. A ruined castle and priory that dominate the coast near Tynemouth are visible in the righthand background; Homer would have seen this view daily from his rented studio overlooking Cullercoats Harbor. The artist's use of transparent gray wash for the ruins makes them appear ghostly and desolate in the mist. Overall, this work successfully captures a sense of ocean breezes and moist salt air.

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