Sea fever

WINSLOW HOMER’S bracing coastal and wilderness views of New England challenged the tradition of idealised landscapes that, by the 1860s, had become synonymous with the American dream. From his iridescent watercolours of leaping trout glinting in sunlight reflected from the clean waters of the Adirondacks to monumental seascapes that surge with the power of wind and wave, he expressed an elemental connection to wild Nature with unprecedented realism and vigour. Yet he was also interested in the psychological narrative and deeper undercurrents run through his work. With his focus on Man’s precarious relationship with the environment, together with themes of war and race, Homer’s paintings assume a renewed resonance today.

Largely self taught, he worked tirelessly to perfect his mastery of oils and watercolour and, although great