A Garden in Nassau
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.In the years following the U.S. Civil War, the Bahamas sought to revive their economy with tourism. Hoping to attract wealthy visitors, especially from the nearby United States, advertising campaigns celebrated the islands as picturesque tropical paradises and promoted the healthful, restorative climate as a refuge from winter weather up north. Homer’s vibrant watercolor, intended for viewers back home, celebrates the lush, verdant landscape while also suggesting the exclusion of Black islanders from aspects of Bahamian society. The coral and limestone wall, traditionally used to enclose the gardens of Nassau’s private residences, separates the child from the landscape beyond. Homer originally included two additional figures attempting to climb over the gate to retrieve coconuts but later edited them out.
Artwork Details
- Title: A Garden in Nassau
- Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
- Date: 1885
- Culture: American
- Medium: Watercolor, gouache, and graphite on wove paper
- Dimensions: 14 1/2 x 21 in. (36.8 x 53.3 cm)
Framed: 32 1/2 x 39 1/16 in. (82.6 x 99.2 cm) - Credit Line: Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Daniel J. Terra Collection (1994.10)
- Rights and Reproduction: Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago / Art Resource, NY
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing