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Sharks (The Derelict)

Winslow Homer American
1885
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
During his visits to the Bahamas, Homer may have seen, heard, or read about human encounters with sharks, as several incidents were reported in the local newspaper, the Nassau Guardian. Shortly after the artist arrived in Nassau in 1885, the paper published an eyewitness account of a man "swallowed by an enormous shark" after a boating accident. In this watercolor, the absence of people invites speculation that the swarming creatures have been successful predators. As is often the case in Homer’s work, the precise narrative is unclear. Compositionally, this watercolor is an important predecessor to the final painting of The Gulf Stream (The Met, 06.1234).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Sharks (The Derelict)
  • Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
  • Date: 1885
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Watercolor and graphite on wove paper
  • Dimensions: 14 1/2 x 20 15/16 in. (36.8 x 53.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Estate of Helen Babbott Sanders (78.151.4)
  • Rights and Reproduction: Photo: Brooklyn Museum
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing