The Watcher, Tynemouth
Winslow Homer · 1882 · Art Institute of Chicago
Guide
Adjust the guideNew to it · Medium
Nobody has listened to this guide yet. Making it takes about twenty seconds, and after that anyone can hear it straight away.
From the museum
During his sojourn in England, from 1881 to 1882, Homer settled in the small fishing village of Cullercoats, located about two miles from the city of Tynemouth. He often drew and painted the women of the village, as they watched and waited on the shore, eyes always trained on the frequently treacherous sea. The Watcher, Tynemouth emphasizes the woman's loneliness and anxiety as she faces the raw forces of nature. Homer chose to represent the woman with her back to the viewer. She is clad in dark blue and reddish-brown clothing, and her face is obscured by a headscarf, so as to shield her from probing eyes. The muted palette of this watercolor—overcast blue-gray sky, murky green and blue waves—exaggerates the stark whiteness of the foamy caps on the waves. Their peaks punctuate the horizon line, as do the sails of the two boats in the distance.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC BY 4.0
What did you think?
Save this work’s image and museum information on this device to read without a connection.
Ask about this work
Ask in your own words. The answer comes from what the museum has written about the work, and says so when that does not hold it.
Details
- Maker
- Winslow Homer, American, 1836-1910
- Date
- 1882
- Medium
- Transparent and opaque watercolor, with rewetting, blotting, and scraping, heightened with gum glaze, over graphite, on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper (all edges trimmed)
- Dimensions
- 21.3 × 37.7 cm (8 7/16 × 14 7/8 in.)
- Place of origin
- United States
- Held by
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · Not on view
- Credit line
- Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection
Image: Art Institute of Chicago, CC0
