Winslow Homer: A Study of the Gulf Stream

Homer is an American painter from Boston Massachusetts, working primarily in the late nineteenth century. He is renowned for his ocean landscapes, compelling illustrations, and his realist style. The beauty of Homer’s skill at art is the fact that he had no formal training, yet he became a prolific master of oils, watercolors, engravings, and more. Homer was primarily focused on the power of the ocean, and most of his pieces reflect this as the ocean or a coast is often the central subject of his art. He also was particularly interested in painting black Americans, which was quite original and counterculture for artists to do in his time, especially in the clarifying light that he painted them in. Race was a pivotal issue in America during Homer’s creative life, so it is reasonable to believe that it played some role in his work. Homer went on two trips to the Bahamas, once in 1885 and another in 1898, and his work was greatly influenced by his experiences and observations there. In order to create his masterpiece, The Gulf Stream, Homer sought inspiration from what he observed in the Bahamas. Each piece in this collection demonstrates that Homer painted his observations and was deeply influenced by his surroundings. This exhibition is a culmination of six works that visually documents Homer’s journey to complete his final piece, The Gulf Stream. 

Winslow Homer, Shark Fishing 1885, watercolor on paper 13 7/8 x 20 in. (35.2 x 50.8 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

This watercolor piece depicts two black Bahamian fishermen in the act of hooking a struggling shark with gaping jaws. We can see that the two men are not stylized, but instead very naturalistic. Inspired from his first trip in the Bahamas, this was one of the first works that inspired his masterpiece, The Gulf Stream. During this trip there was an article in the newspaper that recorded the catch of an 11 foot shark, which was then brought to the hotel where Homer was staying for inspection. We can see a different perspective of sharks in this painting, as the commonly depicted predator has now become prey. A recurring depiction that Homer produced was the erratic and thrashing movement of large sharks. This is the one of the five works to document the evolution of the pinnacle of Homer’s expression of his Bahamian experience.

The Gulf Stream. Winslow Homer, Distressed Boat (Sketch for the Gulf Stream) 1885, graphite on paper 4 × 6 5/16 in. (10.2 × 16 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

It is believed that Homer could have been inspired to sketch this scene of a boat when he was sailing between Cuba and the Bahamas during his first trip in 1885. The boat appears to be on the brink of capsizing, which may have been a reflection of Homer’s experience as a passenger during his trip. We can see that the boat is dismasted and there is also a figure quickly sketched on the starboard side of the vessel. Homer appeared to have relied heavily on this visual for his distressed boat in The Gulf Stream. There is a continuity across Homer’s paintings and sketches leading up to his final piece, The Gulf Stream, and that is the tilted, dismasted boat, which is clearly in distress. Something that may catch our eye is the amount of unfilled, negative space on this paper, as it leaves the viewer imagining what Homer intends to do next with his sketch. Much of Homer’s work consisted of sketches, using graphite on paper, however, not many were as quick and “loose” looking as this sketch.

Winslow Homer, Sharks (The Derelict) 1885, watercolor and graphite on wove paper 14 1/2 x 20 15/16 in. (36.8 x 53.2 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Homer painted what he observed during his time in the Bahamas, yet he also depicted what he read and heard. During his first visit to the Bahamas in 1885, the local Nassau newspaper published an eyewitness account of a man swallowed whole by a massive shark. In this painting, the sharks’ form contrasts with the stillness of the distressed boat, and the waters are still and subdued compared to the oil painting of The Gulf Stream. The four writhing sharks take on a predator role in this piece, as the absence of a person or people could lead to speculation of a successful meal for the enormous fish. As is often the case in Homer’s art, the narrative behind the painting is uncertain. Sharks (The Derelict) is a key predecessor for Homer’s final piece of The Gulf Stream. 

Winslow Homer, The Gulf Stream 

probably 1899, watercolor and graphite on wove paper

11 5/16 x 20 in. (28.8 x 50.9 cm)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

In this piece, Homer paints most of the essential elements that would appear in his final composition of The Gulf Stream: the resigned man, the stormy sky, the dangerous shark, and the tilted, distressed boat. He positions the lone shark so that it looks like it is swimming above the submerged side of the capsized boat. An interesting feature in this watercolor study of The Gulf Stream is the relationship between the reclined man and the thrashing shark. Our eyes are drawn to the implied line between the man’s face and the shark's eyes. It looks as if the figure is staring down at the sea creature. The almost vertical position of the boat draws even more attention to this relationship.  It is safe to assume, since both this painting and the final The Gulf Stream were completed in 1899, that this piece was Homer’s last study before his renowned oil painting.

Winslow Homer, Study for the “Gulf Stream”

1898-99, watercolor and chalk on wove paper 

14 1/2 x 10 1/16 in. (36.8 x 25.6 cm)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

In this study of The Gulf Stream, Homer focuses on the bow of the distressed boat. Using watercolor, Homer develops the details of the churning blue waves and the contents strewn across the tilting boat. The space of the vertical painting is almost completely filled with deep blue waves. A significant development of this small, horizontal study is the bright, strategically placed sugarcane in the center of the boat, the very right of the painting. The vivid colors of the sugarcane pop against the blues and browns of the boat and water; the contrast adding a sense of a deeper meaning to the watercolor piece.  The sugarcane is actually a direct reference to the institution of slavery, which deeply affected Homer’s work throughout his career. Sugar was a desired export amongst many and the Gulf Stream was the main maritime route to export goods and slaves.

Winslow Homer, The Gulf Stream 

1899, oil on canvas

28 1/8 x 49 1/8 in. (71.4 x 124.8 cm)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

This painting is unique because it is the single oil painting from Homer’s time in the Bahamas. This is based off of a culmination of works from his two visits to the Bahamas in 1884 and 1898. In the center of the painting, we see a reclining, stoic black man sailing in a beat-up and dismasted boat amongst churning waves. On the port side of the boat, weaving in and out of the waves are three writhing sharks. This violent seascape has all the treacherous traits of sailing on the ocean: white capped waves, ominous waterspouts, ravenous sharks, and unpredictable storms. The Gulf Stream was an essential maritime highway for trafficking slaves across the Atlantic, so there is speculation that the man in the painting could be a victim of such trafficking. The paint strokes appear to be stacked on top of each other, thick and layered, giving us lots of exciting texture, and because the medium is oil on canvas, the colors appear rich and concentrated. This is the final and finished work of Homer’s series of the Gulf Stream; the ultimate articulation of his observations, experiences, and implications of his trips to the Bahamas.