How does an artist use color to convey mood?

How can an artist convey human relationships in a work of art?

Do preparatory works have artistic value of their own?

What strategies do artists use to provide information about the communities and places they encounter when traveling?

What type of artwork is this? What materials did the artist use to create this image? How does this medium differ from other types, like paintings, sculptures, or prints?

Why do you think Winslow Homer created this image? How might this type of work be used? Typically, studies were not created for public display; why do you think this study is now part of a museum collection and on display?

What is depicted in this scene? What do you observe about the physical relationships of the people and the objects in this work? What do you think the artist is trying to convey through the placement of the people and objects?

This study was made in Blyth, a small town in on the coast of England’s North Sea. The artist visited this town from 1881 to 1882 and decided to portray the community there. What do you believe he wanted us to learn about the members of this community? Be sure to identify specific details of the image that support your response.

Who might these two women be? What is their relationship to each other? What is their relationship to the sea? Homer completed a number of paintings that depict both the comradery and uncertainty of women and children whose husbands, fathers, or brothers are away at sea. Are these two women bonding over their shared experience? What do you see in the image that might hint at that?

Grades 4–8

Ask students to think through the narrative in this study. What caption would they create for this moment? What might have happened before this scene? What might happen next? Students will create a storyboard with illustrations and captions for their predictions about this narrative. The storyboard should include at least one scene prior to the moment depicted by Homer in Blyth Sands, and at least one scene following the moment depicted in Homer’s study.

All Levels

Ask students to consider their own community. Who are their neighbors? Have each student select three to four neighbors and sketch studies of each person on a sheet of paper. Students should consider how the details of the studies will provide viewers with information about the people depicted. Students should also think about how the people depicted relate to each other. Students should be encouraged to use the placement of the figures on the sheet to communicate information about how the members of their community interact. On the reverse, students may write a brief description or story about each person or the community overall.