At Sea--Signalling a Passing Steamer, from Every Saturday, April 8, 1871
1871
Medium
Graphic Arts-Print
Classification
Graphic Arts-Print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Ray Austrian Collection, gift of Beatrice L. Austrian, Caryl A. Austrian and James A. Austrian
Accession Number
1996.63.178
Tags
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer's *At Sea—Signalling a Passing Steamer*, published in *Every Saturday* on April 8, 1871, captures a dramatic maritime moment during America's post-Civil War era of rapid technological change. As a pioneering American Realist, Homer began his career as a commercial illustrator for magazines like Harper's Weekly before gaining fame for his luminous watercolors and oils. This wood engraving print reflects his early mastery of graphic arts, translating intricate details into bold black-and-white contrasts ideal for mass reproduction. The scene depicts a sailing ship amid turbulent s...
About the Artist
Winslow Homer · 1836–1910
Winslow Homer (1836-1910) was one of America's greatest painters and a preeminent figure in 19th-century American art. Largely self-taught, Homer began his career as a commercial illustrator and Civil War correspondent for Harper's Weekly before becoming renowned for his powerful marine subjects and landscape paintings. His mastery of both oil and watercolor, combined with his uncompromising reali...