Winslow Homer Artist and Angler

This engaging book looks closely at Winslow Homer's avid pursuit of fly-fishing and at the inspiration the sport provided for his art.

It was fly-fishing that led the eminent painter to three of the locales with which we now associate his name: the Adirondacks in northern New York State, Florida, and Quebec. Each of these distinctive regions elicited unique and strong reactions from the painter, which took form in works that are brilliant studies of light, atmosphere, and the spirit of place.

Homer's fly-fishing paintings are an immensely varied and little-understood aspect of his art. They serve as a counterpoint to all his other work, especially in the 1880s and beyond when fly-fishing represented a regular and sustained activity for the artist. His fishing expeditions offered recreation, rejuvenation, solace, and camaraderie, which spurred his imagination. The intense visual experience of fly-fishing afforded Homer a close involvement with nature's mysterious details, revealing new worlds of color, form, and dynamism. He also found through fishing new outlets for his work, new patrons, and an audience of Victorian-era sportsmen who could comprehend his pictures. 184 illustrations, 123 in color.