Winslow Homer

Homer traveled to the North Sea village of Cullercoats, England, in the spring of 1881 and stayed there until November 1882. Living in semi-isolation, he painted coastal scenes and life in the fishing village. Here he depicts a woman-diminutive beside a boat-bracing herself against the wind and spray. Wet-on-wet layering, blotting, and some wet scraping suggest the damp atmosphere.

For all the immediacy of the work, the type of paper used suggests that Homer may have painted it from memory after returning to America.

In the years following his Houghton Farm visits, Homer enlarged his technical and subject repertoire in a wholly new environment. He sailed to England in the spring of 1881 and established residence in the North Sea fishing village of Cullercoats, remaining there until November 1882. English Coastal Scene depicts a woman's interaction with the harsh environment of the village, a familiar theme from this period. Evidence of Homer's adoption of such English techniques as blotting, scraping, and repainting mark a profound turning point in his career as a watercolorist.