GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Winslow Homer was an avid fisherman, and, with his brother Charles, he spent many summers in the Adirondacks. In 1886 the brothers joined what would become the North Woods Club in Minerva, New York, which catered to sport hunters and fishermen. Casting in the Falls was painted during Homer's summer trip to Minerva in 1889 and is one of nearly thirty watercolors dated to that year.
Homer rarely painted his works on-site, relying instead on rapid pencil sketches and an acute visual memory to guide him in his studio. For this watercolor the artist places the viewer at the base of the falls, looking upstream at a fisherman in the midst of his cast. By deliberately rendering the fisherman in broad washes with minimal detail, Homer emphasizes the graceful motion of the cast. As the fisherman leans back, his body acts as a counterbalance to the rushing cascade, boldly painted in blue. The reserved white paper is artfully employed in the highlighted foam of the current. Touches of Homer's signature use of red in the foreground water and the fisherman's belt contribute to the picture's visual unity.
Homer helped found the American Water Color Society in 1865, at a time when the medium was considered the province of women and amateurs. His strong colors and brilliant execution increased the respect accorded the medium, as did his then daring prediction to a friend, "You will see, in the future I will live by my watercolors."
Excerpt from
Eleanor Jones Harvey, "Winslow Homer, Casting in the Falls", in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 234.
NOTES
Created in 1889
Object File Reviewed
Attaches to content chunk "Casting" when it should not. Added Inadequate rules tag.
The movement toward realism after the Civil War in the last quarter of the 19th century culminates in the work of Homer and Eakins. Homer was concerned with direct, straightforward representation of nature, unfettered by the romantic grandeur of Church and Bierstadt. His work moves from unsentimental illustrations of the Civil War to paintings and watercolors of man against nature, to metaphors of the larger human question of survival. Homer's work is that of a largely self-trained artist, influenced by the human condition itself. It is also the vision of a solitary, self sufficient man.
In 1889 and in subsequent years, Homer spent a few months in late summer or early fall in the Adirondacks, often with his brother Charles, going on fishing and camping trips, and making watercolors. The DMA's
watercolor, Casting in the Falls (1889) was probably done on the first trip. The watercolors from the Adirondacks show a simplification in composition, often with just a single figure shown in a natural setting.
Homer often used his camera to study different angles of vision, which may explain the angle used here for the figure of the fisherman. The cool light of the mountains is shown in the color choices and the transparent
water. The simplification of the composition, the fluidity of the scene, and the concern for light are characteristics of Homer's work. The conflict of man and nature can be seen in the rushing, forceful water and
broken tree limbs, as contrasted with the figure of the fisherman poised at the edge of the falls. This water color hints at the artist's later works, which have a more direct and urgent sense of confrontation and survival, as well as a sense of foreboding in the face of hostile nature.
Anne Bromberg, "Description of Selected Paintings in the Collection," DMA Education files, 1987.
Exhibition: Away from It All: American Travels from the COllection of Works on Paper, August 4-November 18, 2007
Figure is probably his brother, Charles
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Minerva (New York/United States): TGN: 2070580
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1890: Reichard & Co., New York
1890-1940: Guy E. Currie, Brooklyn
1940: Mathilde Currie (Mrs. Guy E. Currie), Brookyn, by bequest
1940-1956: Charles R. Henschel, New York
1956-1960: Ruth K. Henschel (Mrs. Charles R. Henschel), New York
1960-1961: M. Knoedler & Co., New York
From 1961: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association Purchase [1][2]
[1] The Dallas Art Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
[2] The main source for this provenance was Goodrich, Lloyd, Record of Works by Winslow Homer, Volume IV.2, 1883 through 1889. New York: Spanierman Gallery, The Goodrich-Homer Art Education Project, 2005), 494.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Khan Academy~Watch this video from Khan Academy about another of Winslow Homer's fishing works, The Fog Warning (Halibut Fishing), 1885.
- Khan Academy~Watch this video from Khan Acadmy about a work by Homer that focuses on his depiction of water, Northeaster (1895, reworked by 1901).
- The American Museum of Fly Fishing~Learn more about Winslow Homer as an angler and artist from the American Museum of Fly Fishing.
- Heilbrunn Timeline of Art HIstory~Read more about the artist from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- The fisherman in this painting is most likely Winslow Homer's brother, Charles; both brothers were ardent fishermen
TEACHING IDEAS
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Apply to objects where number equals 1961.11
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General Description
Winslow Homer was an avid fisherman, and, with his brother Charles, he spent many summers in the Adirondacks. In 1886 the brothers joined what would become the North Woods Club in Minerva, New York, which catered to sport hunters and fishermen. Casting in the Falls was painted during Homer's summer trip to Minerva in 1889 and is one of nearly thirty watercolors dated to that year.
Homer rarely painted his works on-site, relying instead on rapid pencil sketches and an acute visual memory to guide him in his studio. For this watercolor the artist places the viewer at the base of the falls, looking upstream at a fisherman in the midst of his cast. By deliberately rendering the fisherman in broad washes with minimal detail, Homer emphasizes the graceful motion of the cast. As the fisherman leans back, his body acts as a counterbalance to the rushing cascade, boldly painted in blue. The reserved white paper is artfully employed in the highlighted foam of the current. Touches of Homer's signature use of red in the foreground water and the fisherman's belt contribute to the picture's visual unity.
Homer helped found the American Water Color Society in 1865, at a time when the medium was considered the province of women and amateurs. His strong colors and brilliant execution increased the respect accorded the medium, as did his then daring prediction to a friend, "You will see, in the future I will live by my watercolors."
Excerpt from
Eleanor Jones Harvey, "Winslow Homer, Casting in the Falls", in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 234.
Fun Facts
- The fisherman in this painting is most likely Winslow Homer's brother, Charles; both brothers were ardent fishermen
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Khan Academy~Watch this video from Khan Academy about another of Winslow Homer's fishing works, The Fog Warning (Halibut Fishing), 1885.
- Khan Academy~Watch this video from Khan Acadmy about a work by Homer that focuses on his depiction of water, Northeaster (1895, reworked by 1901).
- The American Museum of Fly Fishing~Learn more about Winslow Homer as an angler and artist from the American Museum of Fly Fishing.
- Heilbrunn Timeline of Art HIstory~Read more about the artist from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Notes
Created in 1889
Object File Reviewed
Attaches to content chunk "Casting" when it should not. Added Inadequate rules tag.
The movement toward realism after the Civil War in the last quarter of the 19th century culminates in the work of Homer and Eakins. Homer was concerned with direct, straightforward representation of nature, unfettered by the romantic grandeur of Church and Bierstadt. His work moves from unsentimental illustrations of the Civil War to paintings and watercolors of man against nature, to metaphors of the larger human question of survival. Homer's work is that of a largely self-trained artist, influenced by the human condition itself. It is also the vision of a solitary, self sufficient man.
In 1889 and in subsequent years, Homer spent a few months in late summer or early fall in the Adirondacks, often with his brother Charles, going on fishing and camping trips, and making watercolors. The DMA's
watercolor, Casting in the Falls (1889) was probably done on the first trip. The watercolors from the Adirondacks show a simplification in composition, often with just a single figure shown in a natural setting.
Homer often used his camera to study different angles of vision, which may explain the angle used here for the figure of the fisherman. The cool light of the mountains is shown in the color choices and the transparent
water. The simplification of the composition, the fluidity of the scene, and the concern for light are characteristics of Homer's work. The conflict of man and nature can be seen in the rushing, forceful water and
broken tree limbs, as contrasted with the figure of the fisherman poised at the edge of the falls. This water color hints at the artist's later works, which have a more direct and urgent sense of confrontation and survival, as well as a sense of foreboding in the face of hostile nature.
Anne Bromberg, "Description of Selected Paintings in the Collection," DMA Education files, 1987.
Exhibition: Away from It All: American Travels from the COllection of Works on Paper, August 4-November 18, 2007
Figure is probably his brother, Charles
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Minerva (New York/United States): TGN: 2070580
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1890: Reichard & Co., New York
1890-1940: Guy E. Currie, Brooklyn
1940: Mathilde Currie (Mrs. Guy E. Currie), Brookyn, by bequest
1940-1956: Charles R. Henschel, New York
1956-1960: Ruth K. Henschel (Mrs. Charles R. Henschel), New York
1960-1961: M. Knoedler & Co., New York
From 1961: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association Purchase [1][2]
[1] The Dallas Art Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
[2] The main source for this provenance was Goodrich, Lloyd, Record of Works by Winslow Homer, Volume IV.2, 1883 through 1889. New York: Spanierman Gallery, The Goodrich-Homer Art Education Project, 2005), 494.
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