About this artwork
The Outlook, Maine Coast depicts two young women bracing themselves against the wind on a high overlook at Prout’s Neck, Maine. Rather than focusing on what the women are watching, Homer chose to explore the act of looking. Homer, a keen and thoughtful observer himself, was fascinated with the experience of watching. In this watercolor, he associated visual observation with physical sensations: the feeling of strong breezes, moisture in the air, and the chill of an overcast day. Because it allowed Homer to work outdoors quickly, watercolor was the perfect medium to make these atmospheric effects tangible and immediate. In The Outlook, Maine Coast, Homer was especially successful in creating the sense of moving air. The low vantage point also contributes to the emphasis on the windy sky of gray and pink clouds.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Winslow Homer
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Title
- The Outlook, Maine Coast
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1894
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Medium
- Transparent watercolor, with traces of opaque watercolor, rewetting, blotting, spatter and traces of scraping, over graphite, on moderately thick, slightly textured, ivory wove paper
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Inscriptions
- Signed recto, lower right, in brush and black watercolor: "Homer"; in brush and blue watercolor: "'94" Inscribed verso, center, in graphite: "oxx.-//Study for Portrait Group.//M.K. 1020" [underlined]; upper center, in blue pencil: "Oct 26 1896"; upper center, in graphite: "10" [in a square]
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Dimensions
- 35.4 × 50.5 cm (13 15/16 × 19 15/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection
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Reference Number
- 1933.1246
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/16812/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.