Mount Washington

Mount Washington is a significant oil on canvas painting created by Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910) in 1869. Executed during a pivotal decade in American art, this work captures the majestic scenery of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, a popular subject for artists of the era exploring the country’s natural grandeur. Homer’s technique in this early piece bridges the gap between traditional American landscape painting and the emerging sensibilities of European Impressionism, a stylistic movement that began influencing artists in the late 1860s.

The painting showcases Homer’s early experimentation with landscape subjects following his extensive work as a prolific illustrator during the Civil War. The application of the oil paint suggests a move toward looser brushwork and a greater emphasis on capturing atmospheric effects and the specific quality of light falling across the expansive vista. Homer employed a detailed, yet increasingly observational style here, focusing on the imposing peak of Mount Washington itself, which dominates the composition. While the work is classified within the American Impressionism period, Homer maintained a distinct, rugged realism throughout his career that grounded his subjects firmly in the environment of the United States.

This canvas provides crucial insight into Homer’s transition from journalistic illustration to fine art painter. The dramatic interplay of light and shadow across the mountainous terrain is typical of the powerful, solitary scenes the artist often favored. This mastery in rendering the American landscape ensured the painting’s lasting importance. As a work widely celebrated within the history of art, high-quality prints derived from the public domain image files are frequently sought by collectors and enthusiasts alike. Mount Washington is an essential highlight of the permanent collection housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, where it serves as a central example of late nineteenth-century American landscape painting.