Winslow Homer (1836-1910)

In the spring of 1881, Winslow Homer made his second visit abroad, spending two seasons near Tynemouth, England, in the small fishing village of Cullercoats on the North Sea. During this time, the artist focused on drawings and watercolors capturing the surrounding sea and the inhabitants of the area whose lives depended on it. As seen in the present work, Lloyd Goodrich explains that his scenes from this period "were no longer sunlit, the sky no longer clear but a moving spectacle of clouds, the sea no longer the quiet water of Gloucester harbor but a threatening or raging element...there was more envelopment by atmosphere; his color, while often dark, added a wide variety of grays, and a new depth and body; his technical skill increased; and his watercolors were filled with movement of wind and wave and cloud." (Winslow Homer, New York, 1973, p. 35)