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A young man with a peachy, ruddy complexion lies on his stomach in a wooden rowboat on a river, reaching forward to grasp the horn of a stag almost completely submerged in the rippling water with one hand. On the opposite riverbank, gold, rust, and scarlet-red trees span the width of this horizontal painting. The boy’s arms straddle the stern of the boat so one holds the antler with his right hand, closer to us, while the other clutches a rope with a loop at the end. He turns his face, mouth agape and cheeks flushed, over his right shoulder to look to our left, at a dog swimming toward the boat. The dog has white and caramel-brown markings, with dark brown ears. The boy wears earth-brown clothing and the front of his wide-brimmed hat is pushed up to reveal dark eyes and sable-brown bangs and brows. The stag and dog are between us and the boat, and are surrounded by thick brushstrokes of parchment white to create ripples in the forest-green water. Only the open muzzle, part of the eye, and the tips of the stag’s antlers are above the water’s surface. To our right, a bare, fallen tree lies along the far riverbank parallel to the boat. The boat and water fill the lower half of the scene and the autumn trees fill the upper half. The artist has signed and dated the painting in the lower right, “Winslow Homer 1892.”

Winslow Homer

Hound and Hunter, 1892

West Building, Main Floor - Gallery 68

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 71.8 x 122.3 cm (28 1/4 x 48 1/8 in.)

framed: 102.2 x 151.8 x 10.2 cm (40 1/4 x 59 3/4 x 4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Stephen C. Clark

Accession Number

1947.11.1

Artists / Makers

Winslow Homer (artist) American, 1836 - 1910

Image Use

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Overview

Information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I, pages 322-327, which is available as a free PDF at https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/american-paintings-19th-century-part-1.pdf

Inscription

lower right: Winslow Homer 1892

Provenance

Consigned by the artist 1900-1902 to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York). Louis Ettlinger [1845-1927], New York, by 1908;[1] by inheritance to his daughters, Flora Ettlinger Whiting [Mrs. Giles Whiting, 1880-1971], New York, and Josephine Ettlinger McFadden [Mrs. William A. McFadden, d. 1932], New York; Mrs. Giles Whiting, New York, and her nephew, Louis E. McFadden, Peekskill, New York; (Wildenstein & Co., New York); sold 20 March 1946 to Stephen C. Clark [1882-1960], New York; gift 1947 to NGA.

[1] Lent by him to the 12th annual exhibition at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, May-June 1908. Hound and Hunter is reproduced in Frank Jewett Mather, Jr., The American Spirit in Art, vol. 12 of The Pageant of America, New Haven, 1927: 84, with the caption, "From the painting Hound and Hunter in the possession of Louis Ettlinger, New York, photograph by courtesy of M. Knoedler & Co." Ettlinger died 22 January 1927.

Associated Names

Clark, Stephen Carlton
Ettlinger, Louis
Knoedler & Company, M.
McFadden, Josephine Ettlinger
McFadden, Louis E.
Whiting, Flora Ettlinger
Wildenstein & Co., Inc.

Exhibition History

1892: Exhibition of Old Master and Modern Paintings...Loan Collection, The Union League Club, New York, 1892, as In the Adirondacks.

1893: World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1892, no. 574 (in the Official Catalogue) and no. 1118 (in the Revised Catalogue).

1900: Fifth Annual Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1900-1901, no. 120.

1902: Sixty-fifth Exhibition, Oil Paintings and Sculpture, Boston Art Club, 1902, no. 27, as Hunter and Dog--Northwoods.

1908: Catalogue of a Summer Loan Exhibition of Oil Paintings, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1908, no. 44.

1908: Eighty-Third Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design, New York, 1908, no. 89.

1908: Twelfth Annual Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1908, no. 139.

1911: Loan Exhibition of Paintings by Winslow Homer, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1911, 15-16, 52, no. 12.

1939: Life in America [A Special Loan Exhibition of Paintings Held During the Period of the New York World's Fair], The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1939, no. 230, repro.

1946: Exhibition of Paintings from the Stephen C. Clark Collection, The Century Association, New York, 1946, no cat.

1947: A Loan Exhibition of Winslow Homer, Wildenstein & Company, New York, 1947, 34, no. 29.

1958: Winslow Homer: A Retrospective Exhibition, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1958-1959, 120, no. 60.

1959: A Retrospective Exhibition: Winslow Homer, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1959, 97, no. 56.

1963: Winslow Homer in New York State, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, New York, 1963, 10, 28, no. 12.

1967: The Triumph of Realism: An Exhibition of European and American Realist Paintings, 1850-1910, The Brooklyn Museum; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1967-1968, 79, no. 78.

1980: La Pintura de Los Estados Unidos de Museos de la Ciudad de Washington, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 1980-1981, no. 25, color repro.

1987: New Horizons: American Painting, 1840-1910, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow; State Russian Museum, Leningrad; State Art Museum of Belorussia, Minsk; State Museum of Russian Art, Kiev, 1987-1988, 128, 142, no. 59 (organized by SITES).

1995: Winslow Homer, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995-1996, no. 179, repro.

2004: Winslow Homer: Masterworks from the Adirondacks, Fenimore Art Museum, New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, 2004, fig. 14.

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

2006: The Clark Brothers Collect: Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2006-2007, no. 187, fig. 131.

Technical Summary

Probably in the 1920s or 1930s the original fabric support was removed and replaced, at which time the painting was reportedly transferred to an additional white ground and several fabric layers. During relining in 1976 two outer fabric layers were removed, leaving only a single fabric support, to which two new lining fabrics were attached. The original ground layer is white, upon which multiple layers of opaque and glazed paint were applied with visible brushwork but no impasto. The painting was transferred in the 1920s or 1930s because of the shrinkage of the fabric; what caused the shrinkage is not clear. In 1976 the upper varnish layers were thinned prior to inpainting. The thick varnish has yellowed, giving the painting a murky appearance.

Bibliography

1892: "Pictures at the Union League Club." New York Evening Sun (December 1892).

1892: "Pictures Lent to the Union League Club." New York Times (9 December 1892).

1893: "American Paintings: The Exhibit[ion?] of Mr. Winslow Homer." Art Amateur 28 (March 1893): 116.

1893: "Minor Exhibitions." Art Amateur 28 (January 1893): 45.

1893: "Pictures at the Union League Club." New York Tribune (15 December 1893).

1900: "The Pittsburgh Art Exhibition." Brush and Pencil 7 (December 1900): 143, repro. 145.

1907: Knaufft, Ernest. "American Painting To-Day." American Review of Reviews 36 (December 1907): repro. 689.

1907: McSpadden, J. Walker. Famous Painters of America. New York, 1907: 186-187, repro. opp. 186, as The Hunter.

1908: Shaw, Albert, ed. "Winslow Homer's Rank in American Painting." American Review of Reviews 38 (July 1908): repro. 103.

1911: Downes, William Howe. The Life and Works of Winslow Homer. Boston and New York, 1911: 163-165, 258, 286.

1911: Hoeber, Arthur. "Winslow Homer: A Painter of the Sea." World's Work 21 (February 1911): repro. 14,013.

1914: Cox, Kenyon. Winslow Homer New York, 1914: repro. between 38-39.

1923: Pousette-Dart, Nathaniel. Winslow Homer. In Distinguished American Artists. New York, 1923: 56th repro.

1927: Mather, Frank Jewett, Jr., Charles Rufus Morey, William James Henderson. The American Spirit in Art. The Pageant of America. 15 vols. New Haven, 1927: 12: no. 127, repro. 84.

1932: Bolton, Theodore. "The Art of Winslow Homer: An Estimate." Fine Arts 18 (February 1932): 54.

1933: Burroughs, Bryson. "An Anecdote." Bulletin of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 28 (March 1933): 64.

1944: Goodrich, Lloyd. Winslow Homer. New York, 1944: 123-124, 170-171.

1947: Gibbs, Josephine. "Honoring Homer." Art Digest 21 (1 March 1947): 33.

1948: "A New Winslow Homer in the National Gallery." The Art Quarterly 11 (Spring 1948): 175-176.

1948: Museum News 25 (January 1948): 2.

1948: Walker, John. "American Masters in the National Gallery of Art." National Geographic Magazine 94 (September 1948): 323, color repro. 149.

1958: Porter, Fairfield. "Homer, American vs. Artist: A Problem in Identities." Art News 57 (December 1958): color repro. 27.

1959: Winslow Homer in the Adirondacks. Exh. cat. Adirondack Museum. Blue Mountain Lake, New York, 1959: 25, no. 50, repro. 149.

1961: Gardner, Albert Ten Eyck. Winslow Homer, American Artist: His World and His Work. New York, 1961: 205.

1962: Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Treasures from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1962: 148, color repro.

1963: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 328, repro.

1964: Goodrich, Lloyd. "Winslow Homer in New York State." Art in America 52 (April 1964): 87.

1966: Beam, Philip C. Winslow Homer at Prout's Neck. Boston, 1966: 107, 133.

1966: Flexner, James Thomas. The World of Winslow Homer, 1836-1910. New York, 1966: 162.

1966: Tatham, David. "Winslow Homer in the Mountains." Appalachia 36 (15 June 1966): 87, repro.

1970: American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 68, repro.

1973: Hyman, Linda. Winslow Homer: America's Old Master. New York, 1973: 77-78, repro. 76.

1973: Williams, Hermann Warner. Mirror to the American Past: A Survery of American Genre Painting, 1750-1900. Greenwich, Connecticut, 1973: 191.

1975: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 559, no. 846, color repro.

1978: King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 103, pl. 66.

1979: Hendricks, Gordon. The Life and Work of Winslow Homer. New York, 1979: 205-206, 210-211, 214, 243, 268, 276, 283, color repro. 205.

1980: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 177, repro.

1980: Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980: 15

1980: Wilmerding, John. "Winslow Homer's Right and Left." Studies in the History of Art 9 (1980): 66-67, repro. 67.

1981: Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: 173, repro. 175.

1983: Brown, Milton W. One Hundred Masterpieces of American Paintings from Public Collections in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., 1983: 94, color repro. 95.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 557, no. 843, color repro.

1986: Cooper, Helen A. Winslow Homer Watercolors. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven. Washington, 1986: 14, 183, 153, color repro. 185.

1986: Judge, Mary A. Winslow Homer. New York, 1986: 65.

1988: Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 31, repro.

1990: Carren, Rachel Ann. "From Reality to Symbol: Images of Children in the Art of Winslow Homer." 2 vols. Ph.D. diss., University of Maryland, 1990: 1:xii, 221-224, 230, repro. 97.

1990: Cikovsky, Nicolai, Jr. "Homer around 1900." In Winslow Homer: A Symposium. Edited by Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr. In Studies in the History of Art 26 (1990): 143-144, 154, repro. 143.

1990: Cikovsky, Nicolai, Jr. Winslow Homer. New York, 1990: 6, 101, 104, 105, 108, 132, 137, 140, repro. 108.

1990: Robertson, Bruce. Reckoning with Winslow Homer: His Late Works and Their Influence. Cleveland, 1990: 21, 71, 78.

1990: Tatham, David. "Trapper, Hunter, and Woodsman: Winslow Homer's Adirondack Figures." The American Art Journal 22, no. 4 (1990): 62-64, 67, repro. 63.

1991: Chadbourne, Janice H., Karl Gabosh, and Charles O. Vogel, comps. and eds. The Boston Art Club: Exhibition Record 1878-1909. Madison, Conn., 1991: 218.

1991: Cikovsky, Nicolai, Jr. Winslow Homer Watercolors. New York, 1991: 12, repro. 11.

1991: Wilmerding, John. American Views: Essays on American Art. Princeton, 1991: 39, 44, 229, repro. 231.

1992: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 205, repro.

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. 179.

1996: Kelly, Franklin, with Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., Deborah Chotner, and John Davis. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 322-327, color repro.

1998: Gibson, Sarah S. "Hunting/Hunter/Huntress." In Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art, edited by Helene E. Roberts. 2 vols. Chicago, 1998: 1:421, 423.