Mythmakers: The Art of Winslow Homer and Fredric Remington
July 1, 2020 to September 27, 2020
Winslow Homer (United States, 1836–1910), Two Men in a Canoe (detail), 1895, watercolor on paper, 14 x 20 inches. Portland Museum of Art.
The Portland Museum of Art is proud to present the first exhibition to explore the unexpected resonances between the themes, artistic sensibilities, and technical processes of American artists Winslow Homer (1836-1910) and Frederic Remington (1861-1909). Co-organized by the Denver Art Museum (DAM), the Portland Museum of Art (PMA), and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (ACMAA), this exhibition presents Homer and Remington within their late-19th and early-20th-century context, highlighting moments of convergence, including both men’s roots as illustrators and chroniclers of war, their portrayals of masculinity and outdoor adventure, their experimentation across media, and their interest in picturing both the nostalgic and the modern. Homer and Remington were touted by turn-of-the-century critics as “self- taught” and “home grown” artists whose work reinforced a distinct sense of American identity rooted in action, vigor, self-reliance, independence, and relationship to the wilderness, and both artists actively cultivated this reputation. Yet, due to the perceived differences in their subject matter— Homer frequently depicted rocky Eastern coastlines while Remington developed his own iconic vision of the American West—the correlation between these artists has never been considered in depth, until now. With more than 50 paintings, watercolors, illustrations, and sculptures, Mythmakers: The Art of Winslow Homer and Frederic Remington will captivate audiences with opportunities to view both artists’ most iconic paintings as well as explore their careers as wartime reporters and illustrators, their fascination with the North Country and the Adirondacks as a shared source of inspiration, their dynamic visualizations of man’s relationship to nature, and the quietude and anxiety of their later works.
Mythmakers: The Art of Winslow Homer and Frederic Remington opens at the DAM in March 2020, before traveling to the PMA in July 2020, and finally to the ACMAA, where it will open in October 2020.
Individual Support:
Kelley and Francis Boero
Robert R. Gould
Jeffrey and Judith Kane
James and Susan Konkel
Frank and Sharon Reilly
Malcolm and Susan Rogers
Foundation Support:
Lunder Foundation—The Peter and Paula Lunder Family
