Notes and Observations

For Homer, still-life composition was the uncustomary genre; this exercise is notable for its rarity, seemingly unresolved composition, and yet satisfying degree of finish. The chiseled face as a study in white and shadowing is comparable in technique to the fabric study in the 1877 watercolor Trysting Place (note the fan). The cascade of crimson in the lower portion of the still life composition is essentially the sideward flowing crimson swash in Homer’s 1876 watercolor Woman Sewing.