Peach Blossoms
1878
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
33.7 × 49 cm (13 1/4 × 19 5/8 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
55494
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Winslow Homer often depicted scenes of leisure in his early career. This painting features a young woman looking at burgeoning peach blossoms, indicating both early spring and perhaps her youth. The setting, which often recurs in Homer's oeuvre, reflects nostalgia for a fading rural past. Contemporary critics referred to the artist's style at this time as independent of foreign influences, suggesting an inherently American quality. However, his stylistic decisions link this work to both French a...
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...