Key West, Hauling Anchor, 1903
watercolour
33.6 x 52.7 cm (13.25" x 20.75")

Winslow Homer (1836-1910). National Gallery of Art, Washington.


Homer has long been regarded as one the masters of watercolour. This watercolour and others he produced in Florida and the Bahamas are certainly masterful watercolours. Beyond the technique though, there's something else, something which I find hard to put a name to, except perhaps to say, that for me, there's a great humanity in these works, which makes them among the greatest works of art ever produced.

I'll have a little more to say about Homer, along with another of his tropical watercolours, in my next post.