Art Institute of Chicago

The Watcher, Tynemouth

Winslow Homer

Date

1882

Medium

Transparent and opaque watercolor, with rewetting, blotting, and scraping, heightened with gum glaze, over graphite, on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper (all edges trimmed)

Culture

United States

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

During his sojourn in England, from 1881 to 1882, Homer settled in the small fishing village of Cullercoats, located about two miles from the city of Tynemouth. He often drew and painted the women of the village, as they watched and waited on the shore, eyes always trained on the frequently treacherous sea. The Watcher, Tynemouth emphasizes the woman's loneliness and anxiety as she faces the raw forces of nature. Homer chose to represent the woman with her back to the viewer. She is clad in dark blue and reddish-brown clothing, and her face is obscured by a headscarf, so as to shield her from probing eyes. The muted palette of this watercolor—overcast blue-gray sky, murky green and blue waves—exaggerates the stark whiteness of the foamy caps on the waves. Their peaks punctuate the horizon line, as do the sails of the two boats in the distance.

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