The Life Line

In Winslow Homer's The Life Line, a near-drowned shipwrecked woman is clasped in the arms of her rescuer as together they hang precariously suspended by a thread of cable above churning waves. Limp in a half-faint, the woman is evidently young; her body, outlined by the clinging fabric of her soaked dress, is noticeably curvaceous. The face of her sturdy rescuer, meanwhile, is obscured by her blowing shawl as he valiantly maintains his grasp on both her and his make-shift seat amid the rising waves, one of which has engulfed his right foot. The couple is hemmed in by the turbulent sea and spray that crowd the horizon, where an angled rocky shore—both their goal and a hazard—is faintly visible.

This etching is closely based on Homer's oil painting of the same title (1884, Philadelphia Museum of Art), which was heralded as a masterpiece when it was first exhibited in March of 1884; it quickly sold to a New York collector. Shortly after he finished the painting, Homer worked with New York printer George W. H. Ritchie to make his first etching, a version of this successful painting. Impressions of the etching, which reverses the painted image due to the nature of the printmaking process, were offered for sale on April 5, 1884. Five years later, working in association with New York dealer Christian Klackner, Homer made Saved, a second, larger etched variation of The Life Line.

While Homer's early work occasionally reflected an interest in the sea, this became a central theme of his art during and after his 1881–82 sojourn in the English fishing village of Cullercoats, near Tynemouth on the North Sea. Inspired by what he witnessed of the villagers' daily hardships as they struggled for a livelihood dependent on an unpredictable sea, he began to create his most ambitious, monumental compositions. Then in 1883, Homer witnessed a shipwreck rescue on the coast at Atlantic City, New Jersey, which prompted his painted and etched versions of that subject.

Primarily a painter, Homer began his artistic career as a designer of wood engraving illustrations for popular American periodicals. By the time he turned to etching in the 1880s, the technique was undergoing a vigorous revival among American artists and collectors. Between 1884 and 1889, Homer made sixteen large etchings; this one and Perils of the Sea (TF1995.38) depict dramatic confrontations between man and the sea, one of the great forces of nature. Homer's etchings are now considered landmark achievements in printmaking history.  

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 1998.

Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900 (Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1-October 31, 2000. [exh. cat.]

On Process: The American Print, Technique Examined, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 13–March 2, 2001.

The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940 (Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains 1840–1940), Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venues: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 15–May 25, 2003; Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, June 8–August 17, 2003. [exh. cat.]

Winslow Homer: Poet of the Sea, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London England, Musée d'Art Américain Givery, Giverny, France and Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizers). Venues: Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, England, February 22–May 21, 2006; Musée d' Art Américain Giverny, Giverny, France, June 18– September 24, 2006. [exh. cat.]

Weatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine (organizer). Venue: Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine, September 22–December 30, 2012. [exh. cat.]

Goodrich, Lloyd. The Graphic Art of Winslow Homer. (exh. cat., Museum of Graphic Art, New York). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institute Press, 1968. No. 91, pp. 32–33.

Howe, Katherine S., ed. Winslow Homer Graphics: From the Mavis P. and Mary Wilson Kelsey Collection of Winslow Homer Graphics. Houston, Texas: The Museum of Fine Arts, 1977. E2, p. 45.

Engel, Charlene. "'For Those in Peril on the Sea:' The Intaglio Prints of Winslow Homer." Print Review 20 (1985): 23–40 (particularly see pp. 28–31 about The Life Line).

Cikovsky, Jr., Nicolai and Franklin Kelly. Winslow Homer. (exh. cat., National Gallery of Art). Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1995. No. 132, pp. 184–85, 223–25.

The Life Line, Winslow Homer. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 1998. Ill. (black & white) [specific reference to Terra print].

Cartwright, Derrick R. Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text pp. 20, 27 (checklist); fig. 14, p. 20 (black & white) [specific reference to Terra print].

Cartwright, Derrick R. Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text pp. 20, 27 (checklist); fig. 14, p. 20 (black & white) [specific reference to Terra print].

Lévy, Sophie, ed. Winslow Homer: Poet of the Sea. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny and the Dulwich Picture Gallery). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2006. Text p. 142 (checklist); ill., p. 98 (color).

Deneberg, Thomas A., ed. Weatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine. (exh. cat. Portland Museum of Art, Portalnd, Maine. New Haven and London: Yale University Press; Portland, Maine" Portland Museum of Art, 2012. Text, pp. 16, 156 (checklist); ill. fig. 17, p. 16 (color).