The Green Hill

The Green Hill is a notable drawing created by Winslow Homer in 1878. This piece exemplifies Homer’s growing commitment to mastering the challenging medium of watercolor during the late 1870s, a crucial period in American art history. The composition was executed using a complex layered combination of watercolor, opaque gouache, and graphite applied to a gray-green wove paper. Over time, the reactive nature of the support has caused the paper to fade to a brown hue, subtly altering the artist's original tonal relationships.

Classified specifically as a Drawing, this work showcases the rapid yet sophisticated draftsmanship that defined Homer’s outdoor studies. The technical complexity underscores the artist's highly experimental approach during the period between 1876 to 1900. Unlike his earlier, strictly illustrative works, Homer began exploiting the transparency of watercolor juxtaposed against the body and coverage of gouache, utilizing the underlying graphite sketch not merely for preparation but as an integral element of the composition. This technique highlights the vitality and immediacy of the moment being captured.

This shift toward spontaneous, highly finished watercolors marked a critical point in Homer’s career, solidifying his reputation outside of oil painting. As a pivotal example of late nineteenth-century American graphic art, the piece resides in the esteemed collection of the National Gallery of Art. The delicate nature of the materials necessitates careful preservation, yet high-quality prints and archival images of this drawing are often made available to scholars and the public. Many works by Homer from this prolific period are widely reproduced, sometimes drawing from public domain resources, allowing for the widespread study of the composition and technique.