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Hound and Hunter

Winslow Homer American
1892
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
After the first exhibition of this graphic scene, Homer felt compelled to explain that the hunter was not drowning the deer. Though he resented having to defend his paintings, he nevertheless clarified: "The critics may think that thar deer is alive but he is not, otherwise the boat & man would be knocked high & dry. I can shut the deer’s eyes, & put pennies on them if that will make it better understood." Homer’s explanation did little to assuage potential patrons’ discomfort with the pictured struggle between human and animal. He kept this compelling canvas, which considers the relationship between predator and prey, hanging prominently in his studio for many years, until it was sold to a private collector.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Hound and Hunter
  • Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
  • Date: 1892
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 28 1/4 x 48 1/8 in. (71.8 x 122.3 cm)
    Framed: 40 1/4 x 59 3/4 x 4 in. (102.2 x 151.8 x 10.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gift of Stephen C. Clark (1947.11.1)
  • Rights and Reproduction: Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing