Description:
light blue sky, work area with large planks of wood in foreground, piled of wood at left, partially built boat filling center with two home-made ladders attached to it, small buildings visible at left and right of boat, workers scattered throughout image on boat and ground around it; water; outdoor; architecture; watercraft
Label Text:
In the 1870s, Winslow Homer, noted American landscape and genre painter, explored his interest in the traditional maritime trades of fishing and boat-building in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Shipyard at Gloucester was the basis for a later illustration for Harper's Bazaar, in which a group of boys is added to the foreground. Here, he monumentalizes the vessel, a Gloucester "clipper" schooner, which is still under construction.
This painting documents that Homer was in Gloucester several years before his well known stay there in 1873. Homer has accurately recorded the shipbuilding activities of the men in his painting, from "planking" the hull to shaping the rudder to painting the bottom planks. The site, identified by naval historian Erik A.R. Ronnberg, Jr., is Gloucester's Story shipyard at 10-14 Pearce Street in Vincent's Cove.
Other label: Winslow Homer records his interest in maritime activities in this painting of a shipyard in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The low point of view and minute shipbuilders lend a sense of monumentality to this “clipper” schooner, known for its speed. The ship dominates the center of the painting, with the upper half given over to a cloud-filled sky. The loose brushwork, everyday subject matter, and atmospheric effects may have been influenced by contemporary French painters, whose work Homer had seen on recent a trip to Europe.
The artist would return to Gloucester in 1873, where he created several watercolors of fishing and boating scenes. At that time, he also modified the Shipyard at Gloucester painting for an illustration that was published in the October 11, 1873 issue of Harper’s Bazaar, also in the museum’s collection.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1950.99 |
