Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009142Early Morning After a Storm at Sea
About the Artwork
The powerful Atlantic surf pounding against the desolate coast of Prouts Neck, Maine, provided primary subject matter for the dramatic paintings that Homer created during his final decades. This example, which the artist proclaimed as "the best picture of the sea that I have painted," was initially conceived as a watercolor. Undertaking the composition in oil after a lapse of nearly two decades, Homer patiently waited for the appropriate atmospheric conditions, executing the work in four different sessions spread over two years.
Inscriptions
Signed lower left: "HOMER / 1902"
Provenance
1924-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio 1924: (Frank Rehn, Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1918-1924: Cornelius Vanderbilt Barton, New York, NY, consigned to Frank Rehn, Inc. 1917-1918: (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, sold to Cornelius Vanderbilt Barton)1 1904-1917: William K. Bixby [1857-1931], St. Louis, MO, returned to Knoedler & Co. 1903-1904: (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, sold to William K. Bixby)1
Exhibition history
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). Exhibition of American Painting from 1860 Until Today. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-October 4, 1937). The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). The Sea. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 23-October 25, 1950). Yankee Painter: A Retrospective Exhibition of Oils, Watercolors and Graphics by Winslow Homer. University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ (organizer) (October 12-December 1, 1963). Heritage and Horizon: American Painting 1776 - 1976. Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, NY (organizer) (March 7-April 11, 1976); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (May 2-June 13, 1976); The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (July 4-August 15, 1976); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 8-October 10, 1976). Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982). Reckoning with Winslow Homer: His Late Works and Their Influence. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-November 25, 1990); Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH (December 16, 1990-February 10, 1991); Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (March 16-May 12, 1991). Winslow Homer. National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (organizer) (October 15, 1995-January 28, 1996); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA (February 21-May 26, 1996); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (June 20-September 22, 1996). Cleveland Collects American Art of the Gilded Age. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 23-May 18, 2003). Weatherbeaten: The Late Paintings of Winslow Homer. Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME (organizer) (September 20-December 30, 2012). Coming Away: Winslow Homer and England. Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA (November 17, 2017-February 4, 2018); Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI (organizer) (March 2-May 20, 2018). Art Along the Rivers: A Bicentennial Celebration. Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO (organizer) (October 3, 2021-January 9, 2022) https://www.slam.org/exhibitions/art-along-the-rivers/. Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (April 4-July 31, 2022) https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2022/winslow-homer.
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910)
- Date
- 1900–1903
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 111 x 160 x 12 cm (43 11/16 x 63 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 76.8 x 127 cm (30 1/4 x 50 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of J. H. Wade
- Accession no.
- 1924.195
More by Winslow Homer in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009142
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