Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
After the Hunt
Winslow Homer American
Not on view
Homer often painted watercolors in series, rendering different moments of the same activity. After the Hunt can be read in sequence with An October Day, hanging nearby. Both works show aspects of the controversial practice of hounding deer. This composition focuses on the hunter at center—depicted as a heroic figure in nature—after he has retrieved his prey from the water. As in many of Homer’s hunting watercolors, there is a tension between the beautiful scenery, rendered with dazzling technique, and the brutality of the subject. At first glance, rich autumnal tones and glowing pools of colors make it easy to overlook the deer carcass in the boat at left, its pale fur blending with the tones of the men’s attire.