Art Institute of Chicago

Coast of Maine

Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910)

Date

1893

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

United States

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Winslow Homer observed the shoreline in various weather conditions and seasons after moving to live in near isolation in Prouts Neck, Maine, in 1883. Amid the remote and dramatic landscape, he depicted seascapes void of human life, focusing instead on an emotional response to nature. His marine scenes are larger than his earlier works, the size of the canvases emphasize the vastness and power of the sea. Homer alluded to the violence of water through the sharply diagonal shoreline and vigorous brushwork. The flat areas of color that he employed to represent the rugged rocks simultaneously hint at abstraction.

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.