What Winslow Homer Saw

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Wanted to continue the series of photos from my visit to Winslow Homer's studio in Prouts Neck, Maine that I began in the previous post. The studio has been extensively restored to match how it appeared in the artist's day by the Portland Museum of Art. Tour's can be booked through the Museum.

Above is the back of the studio with the addition Homer added as a  special painting room in the foreground. The Atlantic peeks through at us from the distance.





The view of the ocean from the 1st floor living room.




The balcony or "piazza" Homer had constructed to give him a panoramic view of the sea.





Shadows on the piazza. Below two views from that balcony with the Atlantic in the distance.












Homer's painting room. The Portland Museum ascertained that Homer had the wall painted this cream yellow color rather than white.









A secret behind any strong artist is mastery of his craft. Homer was no exception. He had a killer set of canvas pliers to stretch his linen canvas "just right" over his stretcher bars. I have several different sets of canvas pliers in my studio and am charmed that their design hasn't altered in the least since Homer's day.






One of the props Homer used for his painting Eight Bells now in the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, MA (see below), a sextant displayed in the studio's painting room.

 





Getting these glimpses of what Homer saw around him brings us a tantalizing step closer to understanding his creativity. Yet as fascinating as his daily surroundings are, they only take us so far. To go all the way you have to let Homer's paintings themselves beckon you to take that last step. When they work their magic on you you feel almost like you're touching the artist's soul.

I will post a final group of my photos from my tour of the Homer studio tomorrow or the next day.






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