Winslow Homer

Homer focused his attention on the rocky shores near his studio at Prout’s Neck, Maine, during the final decades of his career. In this view of a sailing ship in the crashing Atlantic, the somber palette, aggressive brushstrokes, and open, square format address human vulnerability in the face of nature’s dominating presence. The title refers to leeward winds that blow towards the coastline; a craft that cannot alter its course to windward risks being run aground or dashed upon the rocks. This dramatic composition was one of the first important American paintings to enter the RISD Museum’s collection.

In this view of crashing surf and a sailing vessel “on a lee shore,” Winslow Homer conjures man’s vulnerability in the face of nature. The somber palette and broad brushstrokes of his aggressive style characterized a shift away from inhabited landscapes to wilder, unpopulated scenes near his home at Prout’s Neck, Maine. The painting was acquired by the Museum within a year of its creation, but only after it had been returned to the artist’s dealer by a collector whose interests had suddenly changed. Happy that it had found a permanent home, Homer wrote that he considered On a Lee Shore “a very excellent painting.” It became an important first purchase from a fund established in honor of one of RISD’s founders, Jesse Metcalf.

Winslow Homer’s dramatic view of the coast near Prout’s Neck, Maine, was one of the first important American paintings to enter the RISD Museum’s collection. Like so many 19th century-American artists, Homer had been a printmaker, draftsman, and successful illustrator before he learned to paint. Essentially self-taught, he came to employ fluid brushstrokes in a realist style that he applied to compositions of figures out-of-doors (see his Fishin’ elsewhere in this gallery). His later work shifted from inhabited landscapes to wilder, unpopulated scenes. In these poetic compositions, he found a deeper level of emotional engagement with nature and its power.

Homer’s view of the crashing Atlantic surf and a sailing ship “on a lee shore” address the dark reality of the ocean’s dominating presence. Leeward winds blow towards the coastline. A craft that cannot alter its course to windward is at risk of being run aground or dashed upon the rocky coast. The painting’s somber palette, broad, aggressive brushstrokes, and dramatically contained square format are combined to express man’s vulnerability in the face of nature.