Winslow Homer remains one of the most celebrated American artists of the nineteenth century, renowned for his evocative portrayals of everyday life and the natural world. Rather than focus on society’s elite, Homer turned his attention to ordinary Americans, capturing them with honesty, restraint, and quiet empathy. The sea became a recurring subject in his work—not as a place of leisure, but as a symbol of endurance and nature’s unrelenting force. Although he spent time in Paris and England, Homer lived much of his later life in relative seclusion at his coastal home in Prouts Neck, Maine, where the rugged Atlantic shoreline inspired some of his most iconic paintings.

The Distinguished Professor of Art History at Pace University, New York, Janetta Rebold Benton, traces Homer’s artistic evolution, his commitment to American Realism, and his enduring legacy as a painter of elemental truths. She also examines the parallel yet sharply contrasting career of Thomas Eakins, another major figure in American Realism. Where Homer was reserved and introspective, Eakins was bold, outspoken, and often controversial. His unflinching studies of the human body and unconventional teaching methods at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts ultimately led to scandal and dismissal. Viewed together, the lives and work of Homer and Eakins offer a compelling lens through which to understand a nation—and its art—grappling with profound cultural transformation.

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