Hurricane, Bahamas

Hurricane, Bahamas is a powerful watercolor created by Winslow Homer in 1898. Executed using watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper, this piece exemplifies Homer's late career mastery of the medium. The painting stems from the artist’s extensive travels to the Caribbean and Florida in the 1880s and 1890s, where he frequently sought dramatic tropical subjects often characterized by their tumultuous weather.

The composition captures the sheer force and destructive atmosphere of the hurricane. Homer focuses the viewer's attention on the struggle between the built environment and the overwhelming power of nature, rendering local houses battered by extreme wind and torrential rain. The swaying palms are depicted not as symbols of tropical tranquility, but as bent, stressed elements barely withstanding the storm. Homer renders the scene with quick, expressive washes and precise graphite outlines, perfectly conveying the immediacy of the natural disaster.

As an important piece of American art from the late 19th century, the work showcases the artist's enduring fascination with the sea and extreme weather, a hallmark of painting in the United States during this period. Homer's powerful yet restrained approach cemented his reputation as one of the era’s foremost interpreters of the environment. This historically significant work is currently housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Today, high-quality images of this watercolor often enter the public domain, allowing enthusiasts and scholars to obtain detailed art prints for study.