Coast of Maine
1893
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
61 × 76.2 cm (24 × 30 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
8971
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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 b...
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...