Warm Afternoon

1878

Winslow Homer

Associated Names
Winslow Homer

Artist, American, 1836 - 1910

This painting shows a pastoral landscape from a slightly elevated viewpoint. Closest to us, two sheep are lying down on a shaded green slope next to a person on the right, who is wearing a dark red garment with a blue headscarf. The person lays in the grass, resting one head on their hand, looking to the right. The person seems to have peach-toned skin, although details of their face are hard to discern. There appears to be a brown basket next to them. In the background, more white sheep graze across rolling green hills illuminated with light. On the left are a grove of tall trees, which cast shadows on the grassy ground. There are more green trees near the top right corner, below a cloudy blue sky. The brushstrokes in the painting are thick and visible.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    watercolor, gouache, and graphite on gray-green wove paper faded to brown

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 17.7 × 21.4 cm (6 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1994.59.24

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Goodrich/Gerdts 2008, Vol. III, no. 685

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Lawson Valentine, New York, c. 1879, (d. 1891); Lucy Houghton Valentine (Mrs.Lawson Valentine), 1891; Almira Valentine Pulsifer (Mrs. Nathan Trowbridge Pulsifer), her daughter, 1911; Harold Trowbridge Pulsifer, New York, her son, nd; Susan Nichols Pulsifer (Mrs. Harold Trowbridge Pulsifer), in trust, 1948; Alice Pulsifer Doyle (Mrs. Joseph Doyle), his niece, 1987; Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA, 1989; gift to NGA, 1994.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1911

  • Loan Exhibition of Paintings by Winslow Homer, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 6 Feb.-19 March 1911, no. 26 (as Shepherdess)

1915

  • Water Colors by Winslow Homer, The Museum of the Brooklyn Institute, 16 Oct.-7 Nov. 1915; The Century Association, New York, 8 Dec. 1915-c. 14 Jan. 1916, no. 18 (as Th Shepherdess, Houghton Farm)

1954

  • The Art of Winslow Homer, Bowdoin College Museum of Fine Arts, Brunswick, Maine, and Art Department of Colby College, Waterville, Maine, 1-21 Nov., and 1-21 Dec. 1954

1962

  • Winslow Homer in New York State, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, New York, 29 June-22 Aug. 1963, no. 36

1990

  • Winslow Homer in the 1870s: Selections from the Valentine-Pulsifer Collection, The Art Museum, Princeton (New Jersey) University, 10 Feb.-11 March 1990; Wadworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, 18 March-15 April 1990, no. 36

1995

  • Winslow Homer, National Gallery of Art, Washington; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995-1996, 163-164, no. 94.

2005

  • Winslow Homer in the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2005-2006, unnumbered brochure.

2009

  • Winslow Homer's Empire State: Houghton Farm and Beyond, Syracuse University Art Galleries, New York, 18 Aug 2009-11 Oct 2009

Bibliography

1990

  • Wilmerding, John and Linda Ayres. Winslow Homer in the 1870's: Selections from the Valentine-Pulsifer Collection. Exh. cat. The Art Museum, Princeton University; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford. Princeton, 1990: 67-68.

1995

  • Winslow Homer. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995-1996: no. 94.

2008

  • Goodrich, Lloyd and Abigail Booth Gerdts. Record of Works by Winslow Homer. New York, 2008: III: no. 685, p. 122

2009

  • Tatham, David and David Lake Prince. Winslow Homer's Empire State: Houghton Farm and Beyond. Exh. cat. Syracuse University Art Galleries, New York, 2009: 54, no. 7.

Inscriptions

lower left in black ink: HOMER / 1878; center verso in graphite by unknown hand: Gardess de Moutons / Moutons au 1er file

Watermarks

center right not deciphered

Wikidata ID

Q64640187

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