Early Evening

Object Details

• Artist

  Winslow Homer (1836-1910)

• Label

  Winslow Homer (1836 –1910) began this painting in 1881 in Cullercoats, a fishing village on the northeast coast of England. It was unfinished when he returned to the United States in 1883, and Homer continued to work on it in his Atlantic coast studio in Prout’s Neck,Maine. His two-year sojourn in England wrought important changes to his art. Under the dual influences of the British landscape tradition and the rugged environment of Northumbria, Homer transformed his art to express a profound respect for the enduring forces of nature. Forming a monumental, self-contained unit, the two women of "Early Evening" seem oblivious to the approaching sea captain or the buffeting coastal winds.

  An earlier version of Early Evening was exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 under the title "Sailors Take Warning (Sunset)," where it was described as a “large canvas representing three girls on a rocky shore.” Years later, in 1907, Homer cut down the canvas and altered the original composition. Scientific research done with autoradiography in 1992 revealed that Homer painted out the third female figure and incorporated part of her skirt into the dress hem of the right-hand figure. He also altered aspects of the landscape to more closely match the New England coast, and he changed the time of day from sunset to twilight. In describing the evolution of the composition to his brother, Homer wrote, “I have made a new thing representing early evening—it is now a very fine picture.” A year later Charles Lang Freer found the figures “so beautifully done” that he decided to add "Early Evening" to his collection, where, he explained, “it is unfolding new beauties daily. I am glad to possess it.”

• Provenance

  To 1908

  M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, to 1908 [1]

  From 1908 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, in February 1908 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See List, American Paintings Other than by Whistler, A, pg. 4, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Shifting Boundaries: Perspectives on American Landscapes (July 13, 2024 to July 26, 2026)

  A Perfect Harmony (October 14, 2017 to October 8, 2023)

  Winslow Homer: Four Views of Nature (November 22, 2008 to May 25, 2009)

  Beyond the Legacy--Anniversary Acquisitions of the Freer Gallery of Art (October 11, 1998 to April 11, 1999)

  American Paintings (September 10, 1981 to March 12, 1984)

  American Paintings (October 14, 1978 to March 18, 1981)

  American Paintings (November 11, 1976 to October 12, 1978)

  American Paintings (July 1, 1974 to December 5, 1975)

  American Paintings (September 8, 1961 to May 2, 1973)

  American Paintings (June 9, 1960 to September 8, 1961)

  Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings, 1958 (June 29, 1958 to October 27, 1959)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 8 and 9 (February 25, 1956 to April 28, 1958)

  Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings, Gallery 3, 1947 (September 25, 1947 to April 12, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings, Gallery 4, 1947 (September 25, 1947 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings, 1944 (March 23, 1944 to November 15, 1944)

  Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings (May 1, 1933 to February 6, 1944)

  American Paintings by Dewing, Sargeant, Homer, Tryon, Brush, Melchers and Whistler (March 23, 1925 to May 5, 1933)

  American Paintings, Miscellaneous (May 2, 1923 to March 23, 1925)

  Inaugural Exhibition, Minneapolis Institute of Arts (January 7 to February 7, 1915)

  Inaugural Exhibition, The Toledo Museum of Art (January 17 to February 12, 1912)

  Loan Exhibition of Paintings by Winslow Homer (February 6 to March 16, 1911)

  Exhibition of Oriental and American Art Under the Joint Auspices of the Alumni Memorial Committee and the Ann Arbor Art Association (May 11 to May 30, 1910)

  Fourth Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists (May 10, 1909 to August 30, 1909)

  Twelfth Annual Exhibition of the Society of Western Artists (April 30 to June 30, 1908)

  One Hundred and Third Annual Exhibition (February 4 to March 24, 1908)

  Oil Paintings by Contemporary American Artists: Second Exhibition (December 8, 1908 to January 17, 1909)

  World's Columbian Exposition (May 1 to October 30, 1893)

• Previous custodian or owner

  M. Knoedler & Co. (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• On View

  Freer Gallery 10: Shifting Boundaries: Perspectives on American Landscapes

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1900s, 1880s

• Name

  Knoedler, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Evening, American Art

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Paintings

• On View

  Yes