Art-Homer-The Gulf Stream TB02

Please drop this item in rural or Premium Member Only caches.  Do not drop it in an urban cache or leave it behind at a caching event.  Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; this prevents the chain and tag tangling with other items.  Otherwise, take this travel bug anywhere you wish.  No permission needed to leave the U.S.

This is one of a series of travel bugs made to recognize paintings admired by the bug owner. A digital copy of the painting was downloaded from the internet. It was reduced in size, and proportions cropped to accommodate the laminating materials available to the owner. Regrettably these processes diminish the efforts of the artist. One truly must see the originals in person to fully appreciate the work. The text below is a mixture of my own observations and material gleaned from the internet (mostly Wikipedia and Web Gallery).

Winslow Homer (1836–1910) was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art. Largely self-taught, Homer began his career working as a commercial illustrator. He subsequently took up oil painting and watercolor, primarily chronicling his working vacations.

Around 1949 (I was ten at that time), my parents bought a Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia for me and my two sisters. When weather confined us indoors, we would each go through a volume and find pictures we liked then show them to each other. I am pretty sure that is where I first saw this work. I remember feeling the despair portrayed. Older and wiser now, I understand the improbability of a waterspout and sharks circling in the manner shown. And while there are some much more appealing Homer artworks, this is the one I always think of when I hear the artist's name. This painting is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.