Winslow HomerAmerican, 1836–1910Peach Blossoms
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Peach Blossoms” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Winslow Homer often depicted scenes of leisure in his early career. This painting features a young woman looking at burgeoning peach blossoms, indicating both early spring and perhaps her youth. The setting, which often recurs in Homer's oeuvre, reflects nostalgia for a fading rural past. Contemporary critics referred to the artist's style at this time as independent of foreign influences, suggesting an inherently American quality. However, his stylistic decisions link this work to both French and Japanese art. Impressionism inspired Homer's use of a lighter palette, and the attention to linearity in the tree is reminiscent of Japanese calligraphy. The painting thus serves as visual evidence of the global artistic exchange of the late 19th century.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1946.338
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
In the life of Winslow Homer
The whole life1876
The Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia
“Snap the Whip” and “Breezing Up” were shown at the Centennial Exposition; the New York Tribune wrote that it could not remember a picture in any exhibition that could be named alongside “Breezing Up”. Henry James confessed that he detested Homer's subjects of the time, yet “to reward his audacity, he has incontestably succeeded”.
c. 1876
Visits to Virginia
Around 1876 Homer visited Petersburg, Virginia (apparently to see what had become of the lives of former slaves), and painted rural African American life, the most unaffected views of it at the time, such as “Dressing for the Carnival” (1877).
1877
First show at the Boston Art Club
In 1877 Homer exhibited at the Boston Art Club for the first time, with the oil painting “An Afternoon Sun”; from then until 1909 he showed there often.
late 1870s
A recluse in Gloucester
In the late 1870s, whether from disappointments with women or some other emotional turmoil, Homer became reclusive, abandoned urban social life and lived instead in Gloucester, for a while even in the secluded Eastern Point Lighthouse with the keeper's family. Watching the fishermen, the sea and the marine weather, he rediscovered his love of the sea and found a rich source of themes in it.
1878
A productive year at Valentine's farm
Homer spent 1878 as the guest of the industrialist Lawson Valentine at Houghton Farm, his property in the Adirondack Mountains, and it proved a particularly productive year. Valentine, whose paint company employed the artist's brother Charles as a chemist, was an early and important collector of Homer's work and later gave him a studio at the farm.
1878
Fireplaces and the Tile Club
In 1878 Homer made an enamel fireplace surround. For a short time he designed fireplace tiles as a member of the Tile Club, a group of artists and writers who nicknamed him “The Obtuse Bard” and included William Merritt Chase and the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
