The Hood Museum of Art's newest acquisition depicts boys swimming and boating along the coast on a bright summer day.
The Hood recently received "Boys Bathing," a watercolor by the American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910), as a gift.
The painting was donated by Edward Connery Lathem, Dartmouth's former Dean of Libraries and a long-time member of the College's administration staff, in memorial tribute to Rudolph Ruzica.
According to a College press release, "Boys Bathing" remained in Homer's studio until 1917 when his brother gave it to William S. Dennett of New York City.
Printmaker and graphic designer Rudolph Ruzicka (1883-1978) received the watercolor as a bequest from Mrs. Dennett in 1942. He in turn bequeathed it to his elder daughter Tatiana (1915-1995) who passed it to Edward Connery Lathem, a close friend of Rudolph Ruzica.
Barbara MacAdam, curator of American Art at the Hood, said the museum was fortunate to receive the painting, the first watercolor by the artist to enter the museum's collections. The Hood's collection includes several hundred wood engravings done by Homer, but none of his paintings.
"There aren't that many Homers being given away," MacAdam said. "The Hood has a strong American Collection, but Homer has been a glaring gap."
"Boys Bathing," which measures five-and-three-quarters inches by 13-and-a-quarter inches, was painted in the summer of 1880, in Glouster, Mass. MacAdam said records show Homer sent over 100 watercolors painted that summer to an exhibition.
The painting depicts typical subjects for Homer -- children at play by the water, she said.
"The paintings were done after the Civil War -- there seems to be a real nostalgia in his work for a more innocent era," MacAdam said.
MacAdam said the watercolor shows the artist's work in progress as Homer attempted to simplify and strengthen his composition.
"There were more figures on the boat which he blotted out," MacAdam said. "He also blotted to create a sail in the background."
Homer left areas of paper exposed, contributing to the painting's light-filled quality and transparency, MacAdam said. He used small digs with a scraper to create specks of light in the sand.
Homer was influential to the development of watercolor, which was once a thickly applied medium. Homer was the first to exploit the transparency of watercolors, she said.
According to Hood Public Relations Coordinator Christine Crabb, the painting will go on display to the public with the next watercolor exhibit already in the works.
"The painting was in excellent condition when the museum received it, but works on paper are extremely susceptible to fading, especially watercolors," Crabb said.
Displaying watercolors requires dim lighting throughout the entire gallery, Crabb added.
Homer began his career as an apprentice lithographer in his native Boston as an illustrator for periodicals such as "Harper's Weekly." Typically, he used watercolors only during summer vacations because they were portable and quick drying.
