Palm Tree, Nassau

Winslow Homer American
1898
Not on view
This watercolor, composed vertically to accentuate the towering height of the central palm, visualizes the approach of circular storm clouds. Wind whirls around the tree, whose branches bend to the right. Conversely, the red flag in the background—raised by the lighthouse keeper to signal a coming hurricane or squall—blows in the opposite direction. By picturing these contrary winds, Homer contemplates the types of complex meteorological effects he would later thematize in The Gulf Stream (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 06.1234).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Palm Tree, Nassau
  • Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
  • Date: 1898
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper
  • Dimensions: 21 3/8 x 14 7/8 in. (54.3 x 37.8 cm)
    Framed: 30 1/2 x 24 1/2 in. (77.5 x 62.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: Amelia B. Lazarus Fund, 1910
  • Object Number: 10.228.6
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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