After the Hurricane, Bahamas
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This is among Homer’s most astonishing and ambitious watercolors for its sheer technical virtuosity and epic subject matter—and also one of his most grim. He constructed the scene based on his observations of men at work on the sea and his study of tropical storms in the Bahamas (although neither of his two visits to the islands took place during hurricane season). In the aftermath of a storm, a current has carried an unfortunate sailor and his wrecked boat to shore. In this contest between humans and nature, we are left to guess at the man’s fate: is he unconscious, resting, dead? The watercolor might also be interpreted as a possible outcome of the dire situation depicted in The Gulf Stream.
Artwork Details
- Title: After the Hurricane, Bahamas
- Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
- Date: 1899
- Culture: American
- Medium: Watercolor and graphite on wove paper
- Dimensions: 14 5/8 x 21 3/8 in. (37.2 x 54.2 cm)
- Credit Line: The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection (1933.1235)
- Rights and Reproduction: The Art Institute of Chicago / Art Resource, NY
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing