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The Life Line

Winslow Homer American
1884
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
A culmination of lessons learned abroad, this transitional representation of the artist’s new style and approach to epic subjects also exemplifies the theme of struggle in the face of nature. The compelling work was apparently inspired by an event Homer had witnessed in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the summer of 1883 (soon after his return from England). The rescuer employs the recently invented breeches buoy, by which a victim could be transferred to safety via a system of ropes and pulleys. The Life Line was critically acclaimed in the National Academy’s 1884 annual exhibition and purchased by the New York collector Catharine Lorillard Wolfe for $2,500, the most money the artist had earned from any of his art to date.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Life Line
  • Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
  • Date: 1884
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 28 5/8 × 44 3/4 inches (72.7 × 113.7 cm)
  • Credit Line: Philadelphia Museum of Art, The George W. Elkins Collection, 1924 (E1924-4-15)
  • Rights and Reproduction: Philadelphia Museum of Art
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing