W inslow Homer is widely considered the leading American artist of the 19th century. While his oeuvre encompasses paintings, drawings and watercolors, it is his experimentation with the watercolor medium that established Homer as one of the nation’s most innovative and critically acclaimed artists. Spanning three decades and nearly seven hundred watercolors, Homer’s prolific approach to the medium completely revolutionized the perception and trajectory of watercolor in America.

Artist

Winslow Homer

Homer’s introduction to watercolor coincided with the development of the American Society of Painters in Water Color, whose annual exhibitions prompted increased interest in the medium. Homer attended their February 1873 exhibition, in which nearly 600 watercolors and drawings were shown. Months later, he debuted his first watercolors during the summer of 1873.

Early reception to Homer’s watercolors was strong, with one critic reporting that they “were snatched up all at once, and the public cried for more” (“Fine Arts: The Ninth Exhibition of the Water Color Society,” New York Evening Mail, 7 February 1876). His approach to watercolor was highly original for the period, and the novelty of his technique quickly resonated with collectors.

Homer’s familiarity with English academic watercolor techniques is apparent from his earliest experimentation from the 1870s. Characterized by its transparency, use of washes, and subtle color gradations, Homer adapted the English watercolor tradition into his uniquely American subject matter. Through the fluidity and transparency of the medium, Homer in turn gained a greater confidence in his application of color.

Central to the originality of Homer’s watercolors was this sense of immediacy he conveyed in each work. “I prefer every time a picture composed and painted out-doors,” he stated (“Sketches and Studies – II: From the Portfolios of A.H. Thayer, William M. Chase, Winslow Homer, and Peter Moran,” Art Journal, 6 April 1880). His affinity for painting outdoors in natural light directly translates to the brightness and vibrancy of the resulting watercolors, so much so that an early critic praised how Homer “grabs nature and dabs her on his paper” (“Fine Arts,” New York Evening Mail, 18 February 1874). His watercolors boast a heightened sense of spontaneity and a keen sense of observation into the natural world that was not previously conveyed through the formality of his oil paintings.

Homer’s oeuvre is remembered and measured by his engagement with specific themes and locales – namely Gloucester, Prout’s Neck, and the Adirondacks, as he traveled primarily to coastal New England hamlets. However, his visit to the Bahamas from late 1884 to early 1885 yielded a series of striking watercolors that evoke a boldness of color and freedom of brushstroke unlike his previous explorations into the watercolor medium. Homer’s strength as a colorist and unparalleled ability to convey rich detail and texture through the application of the watercolor medium comes to a pinnacle within his Bahamian series. “The Caribbean light had a liberating – and lasting – effect on Homer’s watercolor style,” explains curator Helen A. Cooper (Winslow Homer’s Watercolors, New Haven, 1986).

Bananas for the Attorney General, dated 1885 from his Nassau visit, boasts a bright blue sky peeking out from behind the clouds and vibrant yet delicately rendered foliage that speaks to the tropical environment in which Homer worked. The highly technical layering of washes that Homer had spent years finetuning is celebrated in this piece, as is his prowess as a draftsman through the systematic rendering of the architectural details. The perspective, clarity, and richness of color imbued within Bananas for the Attorney General align with Homer’s innovative approach to watercolor, which defines not only his Bahamian period but also his immensely productive artistic career.

Past Auction

Modern Evening Auction

13 May 2025 | 7:00 PM EDT | New York