The Life Line

In 1941 the Museum acquired this as one of five Homer printing plates from an important group of eight made 1882–89. The titles of plates now at the Met are The Life Line, Eight Bells, Mending the Tears, Perils of the Sea, and Fly Fishing, Saranac Lake. Homer worked on these plates after returning to the United States in 1882 from two years in England. While initially self-taught as an etcher, the artist worked closely with the New York printer George W. H. Ritchie in the multi-stepped etching process–with Ritchie proofing and editioning all lifetime impressions. Ritchie's assistant, Charles S. White, eventually purchased Ritchie's business and stock, including the five plates, selling them to the Met in 1941. At that time, Print Department curator William M. Ivins, Jr. asked White to print sets of restrikes from the plates. Generally, he wiped the surfaces of the plates clean to produce drier and more linear images than richly toned lifetime impressions. Eight restrikes were added to the collection to allow for comparative study (41.20.1-.8) and others would later be offered for sale through the Museum's Mezzanine Gallery to raise acquisition funds.