February 24, 1836: Winslow Homer is born in Boston.

One of America’s most beloved painters, Homer began his career as an illustrator for Harper’s Weekly, who soon sent him to the front lines of the Civil War to sketch battles and army camps. It was not until after the war that Homer began to paint prolifically, although he sketched, etched, and painted with watercolors his whole life.

Homer found great inspiration in pastoral scenes, in the ocean and landscapes, sailors and working men and women. He was reclusive (almost a hermit) nearly all of his later life, but traveled and lived all over, in Paris, Massachusetts, Maine, England, Florida, the Caribbean, and New York, all of which influenced his artistic style greatly. He firmly believed that, to paint, one must seek out subjects - although nature could provide more subjects than a painter would ever need.

(pictured: a young Winslow Homer)