1836 - 1910

Winslow Homer was an American artist who primarily worked in a Realist style depicting landscapes and marine scenes. He used oils and watercolours but also experimented with wood engravings and etchings. Homer travelled to England and France during his career and later ventured to the exotic climate of the Caribbean, where Salt Kettle, Bermuda was painted. In America, he worked around the north east of the country in Massachusetts, Maine and New York City, where he opened a studio in 1859.

Salt Kettle, Bermuda 1899

Salt Kettle, Bermuda is one of my favourite works by Homer, and indeed throughout the Realist movement. I love the linear style and the reflections of the harbour building on the peninsula waters; the effect reminds me of the artworks we used to create in primary school with layered tissue paper and PVA glue!

Painted at the very end of Homer’s life, Right and Left depicts two ducks in a hunting scene (right and left refer to the shooting action). Notice how the colour palette differs from Salt Kettle, Bermuda: like many other artists such as Claude Monet and Henri Matisse, this muted palette is likely to be because of Homer’s old age and physical condition.

Right and Left 1909