| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 90.4

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| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 90.4 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Winslow Homer: The Nature of Observation. By Elizabeth Johns. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. xxiv, 202 pp. $44.95, ISBN 0-520-22725-5.)
Elizabeth Johns's latest study represents a departure for this highly respected art historian. Moving from the sociohistorical approach of her earlier work, Johns here turns to the art of biographical writing. But this is no mere artist biography. The study weaves newly considered archival material about the life of one of America's supposedly best known and most examined artists with fresh readings of Homer's prints, watercolors, and paintings. The book's handsome design, numerous reproductions, and lucid organization reward both readers well versed in Homer scholarship and those with only passing familiarity with his art.	1
Johns's interpretive framework is drawn from the developmental and identity theories of Erik Erikson and Daniel Levinson. Disputing the separation of life from art that characterizes a good deal of writing about Homer, Johns embraces the challenge that has confounded many: the notion that the infamously reticent artist remains mysteriously elusive. As Johns observes, while Homer had very little to say about his art, his personal correspondence was copious and reveals much about his social world. Johns contends that it is through an examination of Homer's inner life and a closer look at the intimate relationship between his biography and his pictures that he may be better known.	. . .

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