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Charlotte Mason Picture Study Aid Winslow Homer

The Fog Warning

1885
oil on canvas
76.83 x 123.19 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

KEY TOPICS:

● In this scene, a lone fisherman rows his dory (or boat) with his catch (two halibuts) in the
other end of the vessel. He is looking behind his shoulder at distant foggy skies as he

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navigates through the turbulent waters.
● A fishing schooner, seen in the distance, is the fisherman’s ultimate destination and he needs
to move quickly in order to reach it before the fog swallows it completely and he is lost at

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sea.
● A description of what it was like for these lone fisherman from a book written in 1876 could

be applied to this piece as well: “His frail boat rides like a shell upon the surface of the sea … a
moment of carelessness or inattention, or a slight miscalculation, may cost him his life. And a greater

foe than carelessness lies in wait for its prey. The stealthy fog enwraps him in its folds, blinds his

vision, cuts off all marks to guide his course, and leaves him afloat in a measureless void.”
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● Though Homer did not paint this piece from life, he used models and his knowledge of the
sea in the area of Prouts Neck, Maine, where he lived until his death in 1910.
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8 (Beam)
9 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

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