Homer at the Beach: A Marine Painter's Journey, 1869-1880

The Cape Ann Museum's exhibition "Homer at the Beach: A Marine Painter's Journey, 1869-1880" charts Winslow Homer's (1836-1910) artistic formation as a marine painter, focusing on eleven seminal years (1869-1880) and a physical journey to six waterfront locations. This voyage from New Jersey to Maine-including multiple visits to Gloucester and other parts of Cape Ann-forever changed Homer's life and was pivotal in his development as a nationally significant artist.

Time spent on Cape Ann was critical to Homer's development. It was in Gloucester in 1873 that Homer made his first watercolors, and during the summer of 1880 on Ten Pound Island in Gloucester Harbor, his mastery of the watercolor medium reached new heights. Homer's innate powers of observation captured the essence of the people he encountered and their sense of place-unique in each case, and distinctly American. "Homer at the Beach" documents Homer's journey of artistic discovery, providing a rare opportunity to view the artist's work in adjacency to the settings that inspired their creation and alongside a range of important contextualizing objects. These period items deepen an understanding of Homer's remarkable talents, and fulfill the Cape Ann Museum's mission to illuminate the diversity and interconnected stories between art and the rich geographic, cultural and historic settings so integral to Cape Ann.

- "Homer at the Beach: A Marine Painter's Journey 1869-1880" written by William R. Cross, exhibition guest curator - Prelude by John Wilmerding - 200 pages - Soft cover - +150 images - Includes chronology, exhibition checklist and index