Figure in Oilskins at a Ship's Railing
Classification
seascapes
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Savage Homer, Jr.
Accession Number
1912-12-245
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer, one of America's foremost Realist painters (1836–1910), captures the raw drama of the sea in *Figure in Oilskins at Ship's Railing*ca. 1895). By the mid-1890s, Homer had retreated to his coastal studio in Prouts Neck, Maine, where he himself in depicting the relentless power of the Atlantic. This seascape likely portrays a solitary figure clad in oilskins—traditional waterproof gear for sailors—gripping a ship's railing amid turbulent waters, evoking the perilous life of seafarers in the late 19th century. Homer's mastery lies in his unflinching realism, using bold brushwork an...