Winslow Homer (1836-1910)

Winslow Homer was an American artist who preferred watercolors rather than oils to paint the scenery and people he saw around him in England and America. He was born on February 24, 1836 in Boston and started working for a print-making company when he was 19 but after a while, he thought the work was boring so he moved to New York in 1859 and set up a studio where he worked as an illustrator. While traveling in Paris he saw the work the Impressionists were doing and when he returned home, he used what he had learned about light to start painting. He spent time as an "artist correspondent" in Virginia during the Civil War where he made a lot of sketches that were later turned into wood engravings.

He loved traveling in New England, especially the White Mountains in New Hampshire. He was a sport fisherman and hunter, so he spent a lot of time in the wilderness. After spending time in England, he moved to the southeastern coast of Maine. From there he traveled to Canada and down the coast of the United States and to the Bahamas in winter where it was warmer. He always took art supplies with him wherever he went so that he could paint whatever he saw. His favorite subject was the coastline all along the Eastern side of the United States, although he also enjoyed painting children when they were playing. Although he had started out painting in oils, he realized that watercolors were better suited to his style. In fact, many years before, he had predicted that he would end up doing watercolors: "You will see, in the future I will live by my watercolors."

Winslow Homer's art frequently showed man's struggle with the forces of nature. He followed the art style called Realism, in which things are shown as they actually exist, even if they aren't pretty or happy. Even though he had very little formal training as an artist, he was so talented naturally that he became one of the most respected American artists.