Rest

Homer’s first trip to the Bahamas is commonly believed to have been precipitated by a commission to illustrate an article for Century Magazine. Yet the details of this assignment remain unsubstantiated and were never mentioned by the artist. It seems possible that Homer visited the islands of his own volition and that his images were linked to the article after the trip. Titled "A Midwinter Resort," the essay touted the pleasures of the Bahamas for travelers from the United States. Women carrying baskets of fruit on their heads were a popular trope in tourist images of the Bahamas. This watercolor of a vendor who pauses on her journey to market, setting down her produce-filled tray atop a characteristic wall, was one of the works reproduced in the magazine.