Hudson River

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.

In Hudson River, a lone figure peers from behind a pile of felled and limbed trees that have presumably been harvested by loggers. The objects of his gaze, two deer, are visible on the distant shore. They bound away, raising their tails to expose the snow-white fur beneath in a gesture known as "flagging" that signals their awareness of the man’s presence and potential threat. Through this deft combination of details, Homer offers a visual meditation on both the individual and industrial scale of human incursions across the Adirondacks.

Artwork Details

Overview

Title: Hudson River
Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
Date: 1892
Culture: American
Medium: Watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions: 14 × 20 in. (35.6 × 50.8 cm)
Credit Line: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection (26.785)
Curatorial Department: The American Wing