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Image Not Available for The Wreck of the "Atlantic"-- Cast up by the Sea, from Harper's Weekly
The Wreck of the "Atlantic"-- Cast up by the Sea, from Harper's Weekly
Image Not Available for The Wreck of the "Atlantic"-- Cast up by the Sea, from Harper's Weekly
ClassificationsWorks of Art on Paper
Artist (American, 1836 - 1910)

The Wreck of the "Atlantic"-- Cast up by the Sea, from Harper's Weekly

DateApril 26, 1873
MediumWood engraving
Credit LineGift of Jeanne and Noah D. Meadows, Jr. M.D.
Object number1999.008.003
Label TextHomer's depiction of the sea is often idealistically cast in terms of a heroic struggle, showing brave men surviving the violent forces of nature. This print, inspired by an actual event, represents another, more tragic view--a woman lies cast upon the shore, the drowned victim of shipwreck. Her would-be rescuer looks down upon her; both the man and the woman have been rendered helpless in the face of nature's fury. The magazine's text describes the scene as "one of the many painful incidents of the days following the breaking up of the wreck," but the woman's outstretched pose and her wet, clinging garment lend an erotic overtone to Homer's image, hinting at deeper, more ambiguous meanings.
Exhibition HistoryWinslow Homer in Print, Michael C. Carlos Museum, March 9 - June 24, 2001
Published ReferencesMCCM Newsletter, January - February 2000.
MCCM Newsletter, December 2000 - February 2001.
ProvenanceEx coll. Dr. Noah D. Meadows, Jr. (1919-2012), Marietta, Georgia, purchased New England, 1985-1994.
Status
Not on view
Collections
  • Works of Art on Paper