Winslow Homer Stamp Honors Local Legend
On August 12, the United States Postal Service unveiled a new stamp depicting Winslow Homer's painting, Boys in the Pasture. The stamp is the 9th in the American Treasures Stamp series released by the Postal Service and honors the artist who is said to have did for the United States what the French Impressionists did for Europe.
Considered one of the foremost artists in 19th century America, Winslow Homer (1836 –1910) was a landscape painter and printmaker. The 44-cent stamp was dedicated at the 2010 American Philatelic Society Stamp Show in Richmond, Virginia, the largest annual postage stamp show held in the United States. Boys in the Pasture, an 1874 oil-on-canvas, is currently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA.
The new stamp is not the first time the US Postal Service has honored Homer and his work. In 1962, the Postal Service issued a stamp featuring Homer’s Breezing Up (A Fair Wind), a painting of a man and three boys sailing, and in 1998, The Fog Warning appeared as one of 20 designs on the Four Centuries of American Art stamp pane.
Sent to the front lines of the American Civil War by Harper's magazine, Homer gained national recognition through his sketches of battle scenes and camp life, both the quiet moments as well as the perilous ones. After the war, Homer began to paint with oil and watercolors, chronicling his travels to New York, Canada and Europe. With his attention turned from war to scenes of childhood and young women, Homer’s work reflected simpler times, both his own and of the nation.
In 1883, Homer moved to Prouts Neck, Maine and spent the rest of his life with his focus on the sea. While no memoir exists, letters from Homer to his sister-in-law offer a glimpse into the life of the artist, including what he thought and how he thought of his paintings and what it meant for him to live on the rocky Maine coast. The notoriously reclusive artist’s outlook on life may best be summarized by his lasting admonition to fellow artists:
"Look at nature, work independently, and solve your own problems."
In accordance with the new stamp, the Portland Museum of Art has been showcasing Homer’s work this summer in an exhibit that runs through September 6.
It is with great honor that we recognize one of Maine’s preeminent artists. Maine is fortunate to have been home to Winslow Homer, and today the Portland Museum of Art is fortunate to be home to many of his best works.
For more information on the Winslow Homer exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art please visit: www.portlandmuseum.org.
