Winslow Homer at Prout's Neck

by Philip C. Beam

Winslow Homer was the antithesis of the unkempt bohemian artist of the nineteenth century. Yet he is ranked as one of America's greatest painters. The reason is not hard to discover, for Winslow Homer's powerful epic statements spoke for America with a breadth that few other artists have achieved. This is a lively, intimate, and immensely readable portrait of the artist that throws a new light on Homer's life and puts it in fresh perspective, concentrating on Homer's years at Prout’s Neck on Maine’s rugged coast, where he would create his finest paintings, from 1883 until his death in 1920.

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2014

Reviews

[Winston? Kam · Rating 4 out of 5]

My exposure to American Art is so limited, so this month's choice for our book club was daunting. Winslow Homer was born in bred in New England. So much of devotion to this region's natural world is so captivatingly captured in his seascapes. Never painted a portrait, never painted a nude figure, and never painted a religious work. Truly a man of the observed world. He reminds me so much of Hemingway, partly because of his adventures in Florida and his love for fishing.
I fell in love with the oil painting The Lookout - "All's Well" 1896 due to its uncanny close perspective and the focus on that bell. It's in the MFA Boston on view, maybe I should check it out in person this weekend. I admire how he started with watercolours since his mother was so great at painting flowers in that medium.
Wild that he never had a love interest and was a lifelong bachelor. He was married to the work I guess.

The most profound paradox I have yet to wrap my head around was his use and the influence photograph had on him. The invention of photgraphy in the 1830s pretty much wiped out all need for Realism but this man stuck onnnn holy shit. And he rocked that shit too. There's this juxtiposing photograph of this canoe on water in Florida he took a picture of and he also painted it. I can't say that one had an increased sense of real "likeness" over the other cuz my book was black and white. Isn't that so jail like why even publish at all. It's a book about a dude and his paintings throughout his life and we can't see the color. Maybe this is what it feels like to be colorblind...

Anyways it's a real treat to be surrounded by museums that hold the strongest and most complete collection of Winslow Homer... MFA Boston, Bowdoin, Clark Institute, and The Met.

Holy shit I was looking at the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection and forgot that Homer's whole early life was that he was a illustrator for Harper's Weekly before the oil paints and before the watercolors.

Anyways, jolly old guy whose legacy remains embedded in the stones along the shore of Proust's Neck, Maine. But I guess that's kinda mid bc Martha at bookclub said that the remains of his studio is midasfffff

[Ann McLellan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written; easy to read. This was an enjoyable biography. The only drawback was having to flip through the pages to find the Figures under discussion.

[Olga Vannucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Painted seas of extreme turbulence,
Lived in placid independence.

[Jennifer Fitzpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This biography by Philip Beam is an intimate, look at the life of Winslow Homer, his works, his family, his personality, and his adventures throughout his career. I particularly loved hearing about his approach to his work, his use of local models (who contributed stories), and the private family notes and interactions. It sounds like his Dad was a Prout’s Neck character!

I found Homer’s relationship to the ocean fascinating. He didn’t go sailing or boating except for fishing in his canoe; he owned a boat, yet only used it as a model; and he didn’t swim or play in the surf. He captured the beauty and power of the sea so well, and like his other paintings, he knew just when to call it ‘done’ without adding things unnecessarily.

The included photos and descriptions of many of Homer’s works are wonderful. I will need to keep this book handy as a reference when looking at his art. Beam smoothly debunks many earlier critiques of Homer’s art and places Homer solidly as one of America’s greatest painters. I agree. This book is a very good read.