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The Watcher, Tynemouth

A work made of transparent and opaque watercolor, with rewetting, blotting, and scraping, heightened with gum glaze, over graphite, on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper (all edges trimmed).
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of transparent and opaque watercolor, with rewetting, blotting, and scraping, heightened with gum glaze, over graphite, on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper (all edges trimmed).

Date:

1882

Artist:

Winslow Homer
American, 1836-1910

About this artwork

During his sojourn in England, from 1881 to 1882, Homer settled in the small fishing village of Cullercoats, located about two miles from the city of Tynemouth. He often drew and painted the women of the village, as they watched and waited on the shore, eyes always trained on the frequently treacherous sea. The Watcher, Tynemouth emphasizes the woman’s loneliness and anxiety as she faces the raw forces of nature. Homer chose to represent the woman with her back to the viewer. She is clad in dark blue and reddish-brown clothing, and her face is obscured by a headscarf, so as to shield her from probing eyes. The muted palette of this watercolor—overcast blue-gray sky, murky green and blue waves—exaggerates the stark whiteness of the foamy caps on the waves. Their peaks punctuate the horizon line, as do the sails of the two boats in the distance.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Winslow Homer

Title

The Watcher, Tynemouth

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1882

Medium

Transparent and opaque watercolor, with rewetting, blotting, and scraping, heightened with gum glaze, over graphite, on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper (all edges trimmed)

Inscriptions

Signed recto, lower right, in blue-black watercolor: "Homer"; in brown-black watercolor: "82" Inscribed verso, center, in graphite: "M.K.W.C. 1012-//Tynemouth, the Watcher"

Dimensions

21.3 × 37.7 cm (8 7/16 × 14 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection

Reference Number

1933.1255

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/16840/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.

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