The Bathe at Newport
September 4, 1858
Medium
figures
Classification
figures
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of John Goldsmith Phillips, Jr.
Accession Number
1947-4-1
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer's *The Bathe at Newport dated September 4,1858, offers a glimpse into the artist's early career as a burgeoning illustrator and draftsman. At just 22 years old, Homer was his skills in New York having recently completed an apprenticeship as a lithographer. This work, classified among "figures" in the Smithsonian American Art's collection, likely captures a lively beach scene at Newport, Rhode Island—a fashionable 19th-century summer resort America's elite, where sea bathing symbolized leisure and vitality. Homer's realistic style, even in these formative years, emphasized the hu...