Winslow Homer, Undertow, 1886

Undertow 1886 Oil on canvas 29 13/16 x 47 5/8 in. (75.7 x 121 cm) 1955.4 Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, . During a visit to Atlantic City in 1883, Homer witnessed a rescue of drowning swimmers that reportedly inspired this scene, which he completed three years later. Two men pull ashore female swimmers who have nearly drowned after getting caught in an undertow. An early biographer of the painter recounted that Homer repeatedly doused his models with water to