Two Boys Watching Schooners
1880
Medium
Watercolor, with graphite, on moderately thick, rough-textured, ivory wove paper
Dimensions
22.7 × 34 cm (8 15/16 × 13 7/16 in.)
Classification
watercolor
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
16803
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Created in 1880 during Homer's second visit to Gloucester, Massachusetts, Two Boys Watching Schooners shows two boys perched on an enormous rock, a vantage point from which they could keep an eye on the comings and goings of the fishing fleet. In this work, the artist juxtaposed the figures and shore (rendered in warm tones) with the cool blue tones of the harbor, sky and schooner. In this way, he emphasized the psychological isolation of those who waited on shore, hoping and watching for the sa...
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...