Shipwreck was the nightmare of travelers in the 1800s and a theme that haunted artist Winslow Homer. His reputation at the head of the American art world was confirmed by Life Line, an oil painting depicting a dramatic rescue from a foundering ship using the newest lifesaving technology. Kathleen A. Foster, Curator of American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and author of American Watercolor in the Age of Homer and Sargent (2017), discusses how this artwork would inspire Homer’s foray into etching, demonstrating his marketing savvy as well as his personal passion for the subject matter. This lecture is presented in conjunction with the exhibition CoastLines: American Prints and Drawings.

Image: Winslow Homer, Life Line (detail), 1884; probably printed c. 1940, etching on beige wove paper. The Clark, 1955.1484