Winslow Homer and the Pictorial Press FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Winslow Homer, certainly the best-known American painter of the nineteenth century, also contributed extensively to the pictorial press. Over his remarkably wide-ranging career he produced more than two hundred wood-engraved images." The illustrations reproduced here represent not only Homer's work as a novice artist but also later pieces that remained a steady source of income well after he had established himself as a painter. This circumstance sheds light on the financial aspect of Homer's career and highlights a crucial role in his development as an artist. In designing for the pictorial press, Homer explored and honed the elements of his craft: line, composition, form, and light. He was acutely aware of his medium and his audience. In magazine illustrations he spoke in a distinctive voice and treated many of his subjects much as he did his paintings. They are, in essence, original works of graphic art.
SYNOPSIS
Although he gained his fame as a painter, Winslow Homer also was responsible for a large corpus of black-and-white wood engravings that appeared in Harper's Weekly, Every Saturday, and other magazines. Tatham (emeritus, fine arts, Syracuse U.), who has already produced a volume examining Homer's book illustrations (Winslow Homer and the Illustrated Book, 1992), explores the engravings as works of art in-and-of themselves, rather than, as in earlier treatments, clues to Homer's painting or simple social historical documents. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
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