The Fog Warning

Winslow Homer captured a solitary fisherman rowing his dory through building fog toward a distant schooner. The catch of halibut weighs down the small boat while the man scans the horizon, racing against the weather. One wrong turn could leave him lost in the grey void.

Homer based this on observations at Prout's Neck, Maine, where he lived among fishermen and understood the dangers they faced. The painting shows the solitary struggle against nature that defined his mature work. Every stroke of the oar could mean the difference between life and death.

The painting hangs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, a landmark work of American marine painting.