Early Morning After a Storm at Sea

1900–1903

Winslow Homer

(American, 1836–1910)

Culture

America, late 19th-early 20th Century

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

Framed: 111 x 160 x 12 cm (43 11/16 x 63 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 76.8 x 127 cm (30 1/4 x 50 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of J. H. Wade 1924.195

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

208 American Gilded Age and Realism

Did You Know?

Winslow Homer's studio in Prouts Neck, Maine, is a National Historic Landmark.

Description

The powerful Atlantic surf pounding against the desolate coast of Prouts Neck, Maine, provided primary subject matter for the dramatic paintings that Homer created during his final decades. This example, which the artist proclaimed as "the best picture of the sea that I have painted," was initially conceived as a watercolor. Undertaking the composition in oil after a lapse of nearly two decades, Homer patiently waited for the appropriate atmospheric conditions, executing the work in four different sessions spread over two years.