Winslow Homer Gulf Stream Tote from The Met Museum

Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910) nurtured his fascination with the ocean both at home on the coast of Maine and abroad by way of numerous maritime paintings. Our tote features a detail from his dramatic seascape entitled The Gulf Stream (1899), in which a man stranded on a rudderless and dismasted fishing boat coolly weathers the fury of the Atlantic current. This intense composition has engendered several interpretations: it’s been viewed as an expression of the artist’s sense of mortality and vulnerability following his father’s recent death; as a representation of the complex social and political issues of the era, including war, the legacy of slavery, and American imperialism; and as the manifestation of universal concerns with the fragility of life and the ultimate dominance of nature.