Winslow Homer and the Critics: Forging a National Art in the 1870s

by Margaret C. Conrads, Winslow Homer

Winslow Homer's luminous watercolor seascapes and highly spirited portraits of children and outdoorsmen are some of the most recognizable and cherished works in the history of American art. This catalogue, published in conjunction with a major traveling exhibition, examines his pictures from the 1870s, the least-studied period of this perennially popular American artist. Debunking the common myth that Homer worked in isolation, Margaret Conrads reveals him as a controversial artist who was an integral part of the dizzying New York art scene of the 1870s. Indeed, Homer was the American artist most frequently discussed by the press at this time--often with simultaneous commendation and vilification.

By viewing Homer's works of the 1870s through the lens of contemporaneous criticism, the author explains how and why the painter embodied the critics' high hopes for an art that expressed national values. She finds reflected in his vivid images an ongoing struggle to meet these expectations, even as he challenged and helped to redefine the artistic conventions governing American aesthetics.

With almost one hundred full-color plates and nearly sixty black-and-white illustrations, this handsome volume is a remarkable record of an important period not only in Winslow Homer's career but also in the fascinating art world of late-nineteenth-century America.

EXHIBITION

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Kansas City, Missouri
February 18-May 6, 2001

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
June 10-September 9, 2001

High Museum of Art, Atlanta
October 6, 2001-January 6, 2002

Genres: Art

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written and released as part of an exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City. It includes 150 images, many of them large and full-color. The writing fails to tell much of a story -- at times it veers into simply listing every time Homer's work was mentioned in a critical view. Still, the attention to detail can be valuable as a reference.