Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) by Winslow Homer

An image of the painting being described
Winslow Homer (American, 1836 – 1910), Breezing Up (A Fair Wind), 1873-1876, oil on canvas, Gift of the W. L. and May T. Mellon Foundation 1943.13.1

Breezing Up was a huge hit when Homer exhibited it during the American centennial, 1876. Viewers loved the optimism he conveyed in this scene of a trio of boys and their old skipper speeding towards port, one lad looking towards the horizon.

We’ll find out how Homer uses a technique we heard about in the Sargent episode that makes us feel like we’re on board and get a brief introduction to lithography, a popular printing method. And I confess to missing an important symbol!

SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo

Episode theme is “Today’s Special:Jam Tomorrow” by Dr. Turtle.
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Doctor_Turtle/Will_Play_Wonderwall_For_Food/Todays_Special_Jam_Tomorrow

Breezing Up information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1401.html

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.30228.html

Winslow Homer information
Wilmerding, John. Winslow Homer. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972. Print.

American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part 1 (PDF)
https://www.nga.gov/research/publications/pdf-library/american-paintings-of-the-nineteenth-century-part-i.html

American Stories information
https://www.nga.gov/calendar/guided-tours/docent-led-tours/american-stories.html

Lithography tutorial from Minneapolis Institute of Art (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHw5_1Hopsc

Season 4 Update

Excited for Season 4 to get started! We’ll be looking at one big favorite and a couple of hidden gems. Plus one artist I’d never even heard of!

A Long Look is now available on all podcast apps, including Stitcher as well as Spotify and TuneIn! As always, you can find links to the information in each episode in the show notes. You can now find transcripts in the show notes too!

The best thing about A Long Look? It’s available to all art lovers! Listeners who are blind or have low vision can use accessible apps like Apple Podcasts, Overcast and Downcast.

If you want to support the show, please subscribe; leave a rating or review in Apple Podcasts; or spread the word! Recommendations from friends and family is the No. 1 way people are discovering podcasts!