Winslow Homer was an American Artist who began his career sketching scenes for the local newspaper Harper's weekly He was present at inauguaration of President Lincoln and his sketches were in the paper at that time. Later he became known for his scenes of battle during the CivilWar.

After the Civil War he was able to go to France to study painting styles, including those of the Impressionists. They sought to capture the impressions of varied and beautiful effects of light on the ocean and sky, on fields and gardens, and flowers and sky. This style suited Mr. Homer very much. and affected his choice of subject matter.

He found an interest in painting scenes of everyday life like the picture you see above. This picture is called " Snap the Whip". Do you know what that means? Its a game children played over a hundred years ago when there wasn't playgrounds or very many balls to play with. What do you notice about their shoes? Oh my gosh, they don't have any! Do you think they were poor? What about the building in the background. What do you see there? These are the types of questions I ask the students when I talk about the Artist of the month. In my classroom are several books and pictures displayed on the bulletin board. Be sure and take a look next time you are in class.

Here is another favorite picture for you to see by Winslow Homer called "Breezing Up". What do you notice about this picture?

 

Here are some fun websites to learn more about Winslow Homer

His Official WEBsite	http://www.portlandmuseum.org/homer.
A brief Biography	http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pbio?15100
Find a favorite poster	http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/homer_bio.