Cloud Shadows, Winslow Homer

Episode 258. I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. An outcropping of rock juts into the center of Winslow Homer’s oil painting Cloud Shadows of 1890. At the tip of the rock sits a pretty young woman in a dark green dress with a red plaid shawl draped over her shoulder. The shawl draws attention to her and provides a bright note in this otherwise subdued composition. The smiling woman converses with a seated New England fisherman, outfitted in seafaring gear. Homer depicts a mostly cloudy day, with sunlight peeking through the clouds to dapple the beach with light and shadow. Rapid brushwork creates the grass that erupts like flames from the sand. On the horizon, the slate-blue ocean appears speckled with white sails. Born in Boston, Homer began his career as a magazine illustrator before teaching himself to paint and becoming one of the greatest American artists of the nineteenth century, famous for his vigorously realistic scenes of American life. During his later years, Homer lived in Prouts Neck, Maine, where he painted the Spencer’s fresh beach scene using a local fisherman and the fisherman’s niece for models. With thanks to Nancy Hernandez for her text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis. May-2008, re-recorded May-2012, Nancy Hernandez I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. An outcropping of rock juts into the center of Winslow Homer’s oil painting Cloud Shadows of 1890. At the tip of the rock sits a pretty young woman in a dark green dress with a red plaid shawl draped over her shoulder. The shawl draws attention to her and provides a bright note in this otherwise subdued composition. The smiling woman converses with a seated New England fisherman, outfitted in seafaring gear. Homer depicts a mostly cloudy day, with sunlight peeking through the clouds to dapple the beach with light and shadow. Rapid brushwork creates the grass that erupts like flames from the sand. On the horizon, the slate-blue ocean appears speckled with white sails. Born in Boston, Homer began his career as a magazine illustrator before teaching himself to paint and becoming one of the greatest American artists of the nineteenth century, famous for his vigorously realistic scenes of American life. During his later years, Homer lived in Prouts Neck, Maine, where he painted the Spencer’s fresh beach scene using a local fisherman and the fisherman’s niece for models. With thanks to Nancy Hernandez for her text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.