(1836-1910) Winslow Homer was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 24, 1836, a New England Yankee going back many generations on both sides of his family. His mother was a watercolorist, whose brightly decorative paintings of flowers were accurately rendered, and Homer showed an early interest in art.

Apprenticed to Bufford's, Boston leading lithographer in 1854, Homer became a freelance illustrator in 1857. By 1859, he was living in New York. Harper's Weekly employed his services during the Civil War to illustrate battlefield scenes. In its December 21, 1861 issue, Harper's, published a picture by Homer entitled Bivouac Fire on the Potomac. In 1862, he marched with the Northern armies when forces under General George McClellan laid seige to Yorktown, but did no severe damage the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Homer's illustrations of news events were published almost weekly during this campaign.

At this period Homer also painted his first oils, depicting farm and country life. In 1867, he spent 10 months in Paris. He traveled to the coastal town of Tynemouth, England, in 1881 and 1882. When he returned to America, he settled in Prout's Neck on the Maine coast. This is where he did most of his great paintings of the sea. He often traveled to the Adirondack Mountains and to Florida, Bermuda, and Nassau, and these settings are also portrayed in his artwork.

New England Prints & Posters
Seascape Prints & Posters
Maritime Prints & Posters
Museum of Fine Arts Boston Prints & Posters

References:
The World of Winslow Homer: 1836-1910 by James Thomas Flexner; (1966) Time, Inc.; New York, NY
World Book Macintosh Edition; Contributor: Contributor: Sarah Burns, Ph.D., Associate Prof. of Fine Arts, Indiana Univ. at Bloomington.