Perils of the Sea

Winslow Homer, one of the most admired American 19th-century artists, was a great pictorial poet of the relationship between man and nature. In this print he shows the drama of man's battle against the forces of nature. Under a dark sky and with the sea in turmoil, two women stand anxiously in the foreground. Behind them, members of the Life Brigade stare out at the open ocean, waiting for the storm to calm before they send out boats to look for missing seamen. One senses the fear and vulnerability of these people who live with and depend on the sea.

This scene was inspired by Homer's travels to Cullercoats, a small fishing village on the North Sea coast of England. Perils of the Sea is not only the first etching by Winslow Homer to enter the Saint Louis Art Museum, but one of the few prints on parchment, or animal skin, to come into its collection. Because the ink sits on the surface of the parchment, it gives the maritime subject the unique and desired effect of wetness and shimmer.