Bear Hunting, Prospect Rock
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Bear Hunting, Prospect Rock reveals Homer’s abiding interest in the guides, trappers, and other woodsmen of the Adirondacks. These mountains, among the largest and wildest in the eastern United States, emerged as a popular destination after the Civil War. Between 1889 and 1910, the artist visited the region at least twenty times, often accompanied by his brother Charles, creating more than one hundred paintings. In this work, Homer focuses on two hunters who cautiously—perhaps expectantly—peer across a stretch of exposed rock. The armed man in front has his finger on the gun’s trigger, indicating his readiness to shoot in what is otherwise an uncertain encounter.
Artwork Details
- Title: Bear Hunting, Prospect Rock
- Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
- Date: 1892
- Culture: American
- Medium: Watercolor and graphite on paper
- Dimensions: Sheet: 13 7/8 x 20 in. (35.3 x 50.8 cm)
Framed: 22 1/4 x 28 1/4 in. (56.5 x 71.8 cm) - Credit Line: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., Gift of John Gellatly (1929.6.66)
- Rights and Reproduction: Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing