Metropolitan shows important 19th-century U.S. painter

The central painting in the Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents exhibition is The Gulf Stream (1899), a tiny boat with a broken mast, exposed to the waves, surrounded by sharks. A black man rests on deck, patiently watching for help. Too pathetic for some critics, one of America's best for others. Now it's on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from April 11 to July 31, 2022, along with nearly 90 other paintings and watercolors by the artist. It is the first major exhibition on Homer in more than 25 years.

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) was considered the greatest U.S. painter during his lifetime. Since he had never studied art, he initially had to keep his head above water as an illustrator for newspapers. During the Civil War, he benefited from his flair for poignant, dramatic scenes and established himself as a serious painter. In 1866, his Prisoners from the Front was exhibited in Paris. For the most part, Homer painted realistically and naturalistically. Despite his fame, he lived in seclusion in the state of Maine.