Winslow Homer

by Lloyd Goodrich

Winslow Homer is considered among the greatest American artists of the nineteenth century. This book examines the immensity of Homer's artistic accomplishments, focusing not only on his masterpieces in various media but also on the suites of works on the same subject that reflect the artist's essentially modern practices of thinking and working serially and thematically.

Genres: Nonfiction

143 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Lloyd Goodrich was an American art historian. He wrote extensively on American artists, including Edward Hopper, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Raphael Soyer and Reginald Marsh. He was associated with the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City for many years.

Reviews

[Andrew H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated in its approach, but a worthy introduction to the artist nonetheless.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Homer's life contains none of the sturm und drang of most of the 19th century painters. It is a life, if not exactly prosaic, one emblematic of the traditional New England virtues of modesty, thrift, and hard work. Consequently, Goodrich has few colors in his palette chronicling such a stolid subject as Homer.

However, what makes the book worth reading is Goodrich's analysis of Homer's work. Goodrich displays a remarkable analytic understanding of Homer's work. And though I am not always in agreement of his assessments of Homer's work, particularly his contention that Homer's watercolors rather than his oils, were what propelled him into the front rank of American artists, I found his criticism well-argued, well thought out, and exhibiting a remarkable affinity for the oeuvre.

And this points out the major flaw in the book. Though there are many plates of Homer's paintings in the appendix, none of them are in color. This is a real issue, particularly so when the strength of the book is Goodrich's analysis of Homer's work discussing many particular paintings. In the age of the internet this is not as much of a problem as color renditions are readily available on line. The book was published in 1944; obviously, this would have been a greater drawback then. Still, it is a little inconvenient to have to consistently reference the paintings on-line