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Current Exhibitions

Paintings of Dorothy Hood
March 18 - May 31, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
Sir Winston Churchill: Making Art, Making History
February 20 - May 31, 2024
Virtual
Ansel Adams: Affirmation of Life
December 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
Picasso: Beyond the Canvas
October 4, 2023 - April 30, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
No Other Land: A Century of American Landscapes
September 21, 2023 - March 31, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
Art of the American West: A Prominent Collection
August 24, 2023 - May 31, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
Alexander Calder: Shaping a Primary Universe
August 23, 2023 - May 31, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
Andy Warhol: All is Pretty
August 17, 2023 - May 31, 2024
Jackson Hole, WY
Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Modern Art, Modern Friendship
July 13, 2023 - April 30, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
Florals for Spring, Groundbreaking
May 8, 2023 - May 31, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
First Circle: Circles in Art
February 14, 2023 - May 31, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
Your Heart’s Blood: Intersections of Art and Literature
September 12, 2022 - March 31, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
Meeting Life: N.C. Wyeth and the MetLife Murals
July 18, 2022 - March 31, 2024
Palm Desert, CA
Andy Warhol Polaroids: Wicked Wonders
December 13, 2021 - March 31, 2024
Palm Desert, CA

Archived Exhibitions

2024

Discovering Creativity: American Art Masters
January 10 - March 17, 2024
Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens - West Palm Beach, FL

2023

Figurative Masters of the Americas
January 4 - February 12, 2023
Palm Desert, CA

2022

Abstract Expressionism: Transcending the Radical
January 12, 2022 - January 31, 2023
Palm Desert, CA
Georgia O’Keeffe and Marsden Hartley: Modern Minds
February 1, 2022 - February 28, 2023
Palm Desert, CA
My Own Skin: Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
June 16 - December 31, 2022
Palm Desert, CA
N.C. Wyeth: A Decade of Painting
September 29, 2022 - March 31, 2023
Palm Desert, CA

2021

It Was Acceptable in the 80s
April 27, 2021 - August 31, 2023
Palm Desert, CA
Elaine and Willem de Kooning: Painting in the Light
August 3, 2021 - January 31, 2022
Palm Desert, CA
James Rosenquist: Potent Pop
June 7, 2021 - January 31, 2023
Palm Desert, CA

2019

Paul Jenkins: Coloring the Phenomenal
December 27, 2019 - March 31, 2023
Palm Desert, CA

2018

N.C. Wyeth: Paintings and Illustrations
February 1 - May 31, 2018
Palm Desert, CA
The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill
March 21 - May 30, 2018
Palm Desert, CA
The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill
June 1 - July 27, 2018
San Francisco, CA
The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill
August 1 - September 16, 2018
Jackson Hole, WY
de Kooning x de Kooning
November 8, 2018 - February 28, 2019
New York, NY
“…a hundred little accidental effects of sunshine and shadow that can be reproduced only in the immediate presence of Nature.” -Winslow Homer

Winslow Homer: Presence of Nature

One of the most influential and important artists, Winslow Homer was born in Boston in 1836. He is considered one of the greatest of American realists in the 19th century and although he never formerly learned or aligned with any of the major movements like the Barbizon School, his influence and recognition is widespread, and his process marked a turn away from the divinely infused works of earlier landscape artists.

Homer created this work in 1879, a time in which he focused mainly on idyllic landscapes, images of children, and young adults in oils and watercolor. During this period, he became a member of The Tile Club, a group of artists that discussed ideas and organized painting excursions. Other members included William Merritt Chase.

The Shepherdess was a theme he returned to multiple times as it allowed him to depict pastoral landscapes, grounded by young women. While beautiful, we can also sense the work and labor involved in the rural setting, the solitary figure set off by shades of green and dappled spots of reds and oranges. Much like Rembrandt and other Old Master painters, Homer imbues his subject with emotional content and personality. 

The 1870s would be a crucial time for Homer as he stepped away from illustration into new experiments in form and medium. Between 1873-1905, Homer created nearly 700 watercolors. Nearly all of his works from the Reconstruction era South are in museum collections, testament to their importance. As Homer himself noted, “You will see, in the future I will live by my watercolors.”

 

 

  • Pardee-wall1
“When you paint, try to put down exactly what you see. Whatever else you have to offer will come out anyway.” – Winslow Homer

Top Results at Auction

Watercolor, 13 5/8 x 20 in. Sold at Sotheby's New York: 01 December 1999.

"The Red Canoe" (1889) sold for $4,842,500.

Watercolor, 13 5/8 x 20 in. Sold at Sotheby’s New York: 01 December 1999.
Watercolor and pencil on paper, 13 1/2  x 19 5/8 in. Sold Christie's New York: 09 May 2018.

"Where are the Boats" (1883) sold for $4,572,500.

Watercolor and pencil on paper, 13 1/2 x 19 5/8 in. Sold Christie’s New York: 09 May 2018.
Oil on canvas, 12 5/8 x 16 1/2 in. Sold at Sotheby's New York: 10 November 2014.

"Children on the Beach (Watching the Tide Go Out; Watching the Boats)" (1873) sold for $4,533,000.

Oil on canvas, 12 5/8 x 16 1/2 in. Sold at Sotheby’s New York: 10 November 2014.
Watercolor, 14 x 19 3/4 in. Sold Sotheby's New York: 29 November 2007.

"Fishergirls Coiling Tackle" (1881) for $3,065,000.

Watercolor, 14 x 19 3/4 in. Sold Sotheby’s New York: 29 November 2007.

Comparable Paintings Sold at Auction

Oil on canvas, 15 3/4 x 22 1/2 in. Sold at Sotheby's New York: 02 December 2010.

"Peach Blossoms" (1879) sold for $2,882,500.

Oil on canvas, 15 3/4 x 22 1/2 in. Sold at Sotheby’s New York: 02 December 2010.
  • Painted the same year as The Shepherdess
  • Sold twelve years ago
  • The Shepherdess and Peach blossoms are the same sizes, however, the vertical orientation of The Shepherdess brings the subject into closer focus
Oil on canvas, 9 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. Sold at Christie's New York: 18 May 2004.

"Farmer with a Pitchfork" (c. 1874) sold for $2,359,500.

Oil on canvas, 9 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. Sold at Christie’s New York: 18 May 2004.
  • Painted about five years before The Shepherdess
  • Sold eighteen years ago
  • Considerably smaller than The Shepherdess
  • Farmer with a Pitchfork shares a similar depiction of a solitary subject at work to The Shepherdess 
Oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in. Sold at Sotheby's New York: 19 May 2010.

"The Return of the Gleaner" (1867) sold for $2,210,500.

Oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in. Sold at Sotheby’s New York: 19 May 2010.
  • Painted twelve years before The Shepherdess
  • Sold twelve years ago
  • Slightly larger than The Shepherdess
  • The Return of the Gleaner shares a similar depiction of a solitary female subject at work to The Shepherdess 

Paintings in Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

“The Veteran in a New Field” (1865), oil on canvas, 24 1/8 x 38 1/8in.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas

“The Return of the Gleaner” (1867), oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in.

The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.

“Girl with Pitchfork” (1867), oil on canvas, 24 x 10 1/2 in.

The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

“The Dinner Horn (Blowing the Horn at Seaside)” (1870), oil on canvas, 19 1/4 x 13 3/4 in.

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania

“A Temperance Meeting” (1874), oil on canvas, 20 3/8 x 30 1/8 in.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

“The Cotton Pickers” (1876), oil on canvas, 24 1/16 x 38 1/8 in.

Chrysler Museum of Art, Virginia

“Song of the Lark” (1876), oil on canvas, 38 5/8 x 24 1/4 in.

The Brooklyn Museum, New York

“Fresh Air” (1878), watercolor, 20 1/16 x 14 in.

The Art Institute of Chicago

“Peach Blossoms” (1878), oil on canvas, 13 1/4 x 19 5/8 in.

Detroit Institute of Arts

“Girl and Laurel” (1879), oil on canvas, 22 5/8 x 15 3/4 in.

Image Gallery

The Shepherdess is featured in the Llyod Goodrich’s catalogue raisonné of Winslow Homer’s artworks, the definitive text on Homer’s paintings.

In the text, The Shepherdess is accompanied by an essay that attests to the quality of this lovely painting. The essay highlights the importance of the shepherdess theme during this period of Homer’s career and the compelling history of this painting.

SEE CATALOGUE REFERENCES

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