Winslow Homer Studio Fact Sheet
Opening of the Studio
On September 24, 2012, the Portland Museum of Art will open the Winslow Homer Studio to the public. One of the most significant locations in the history of American art, the Studio, located at Prouts Neck, Maine, is where the great American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910) lived and painted many of his masterpieces from 1883 until his death. A National Historic Landmark, the restored Winslow Homer Studio will celebrate the artist’s life, encourage scholarship of Homer, and educate audiences to appreciate the artistic heritage of Winslow Homer and Maine.
Tours
All tours will begin at the Museum and a van will bring visitors to the Studio where they will receive a guided tour. There will be three tours per day for a maximum of 10 visitors per tour. Special arrangements will be made for visitors with accessibility needs.
Tickets for Tours
Tickets go on sale beginning June 1 through August 2012 for Museum members and September 1 for the general public. Advance tickets may be purchased through the Museum’s website at www.portlandmuseum.org.
Facts about the Studio
- The Museum purchased the Studio fromCharles Homer Willauer, the great grand-nephew of WinslowHomer, in 2006.
- The Studio is 2,200 square feet, 44 ft. x 53 ft., and two stories high.
- The house to the right of the Studio is the called the “Ark” and was previously owned by Homer’s brother Charles. The Homer family lived there during the summer months.
- The building was moved 100 feet away from the “Ark” and converted from a carriage house to living quarters in 1883 by Architect John Calvin Stevens and his brother-in-law Howard Stevens, of the Portland firm Fassett and Stevens.
- The porch or “piazza” and a pergola were added for Homer and a painting room was added in 1890. A kitchen was added after Homer’s death in the 1930s (recently removed).
- Restoration architects: Mill Whitaker Architects, Architects, Arlington, Massachusetts and North Bridgton, Maine. Contractors: Marc Truant & Associates, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Location of the Studio, Prouts Neck, Maine
- Prouts Neck, located in Scarborough, Maine, 12 miles from the Portland Museum of Art, is a private enclave and summer colony with large shingle-style summer cottages passed down in families for generations. The Neck is 1,500 acres or 2.34 square miles.
- Winslow Homer first visited Prouts Neck in 1875 when his brother Arthur was honeymooning at a hotel there. Homer’s oldest brother, Charles, decided to move to Prouts Neck in 1883, buying almost the whole Neck with the hopes of bringing the entire Homer family there and subdividing the property to create a summer resort.
- There were approximately five to eight hotels at the time that Homer lived there. There is only one hotel there now, The Black Point Inn.
National Capital Campaign
To date the Museum’s national capital campaign has raised $8.5 million toward a $10.5 million goal to support the acquisition, preservation, interpretation, and endowment of the Studio. Of the nearly $8.5 million already raised, 52% of funds have come from within the state of Maine.
Educational Programs Funded by the Campaign
The restoration of the Winslow Homer Studio provides the opportunity for the Museum to launch a major education initiative focused on the artist and the Studio that inspired the last decades of his artistic life. To insure the perpetuity of educational programming centered on the Studio, the Museum has created the Winslow Homer Education Endowment Fund which will provide access to future educational initiatives. Initial programs include: Cannon Rock Sessions, a biennial residency fostering creativity with two visiting scholars; Art in Process, a professional and curricular development program for Maine’s high school teachers; and Homer High School Fellows, an annual summer program for student artists.
PMA’s Connection to Winslow Homer
The Portland Museum of Art has long been a destination for scholars and admirers of Winslow Homer’s work. Homer first exhibited paintings at the Museum in 1893, showing the painting Signal of Distress. In 1976, Charles Shipman Payson, a philanthropist and summer resident of Maine, gave an outstanding collection of 17 paintings by Winslow Homer to the Museum (four oils and 13 watercolors), as well as $8 million to build an addition to house the collection. One hundred years after Homer moved to Prouts Neck in 1883, the Museum opened the new wing named after Charles Shipman Payson. The Museum’s Homer collection also includes such notable objects as his first oil painting, Sharpshooter; an original watercolor paint box; and a nearly comprehensive collection of 400 illustrations given to the Museum by the Osher family in 1991. The graphics collection includes more than 90% of Homer’s graphic output and chronicles the artist’s early career as a commercial illustrator.
Museum Information
The Portland Museum of Art, Maine’s largest art museum, showcases fine and decorative arts from the 18th century to the present. From Winslow Homer and Andrew Wyeth to Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet, the Museum features three centuries of art and architecture. The Museum is located at Seven Congress Square in downtown Portland. The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. Memorial Day through Columbus Day, the Museum is open on Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students with I.D., $6 for youth ages 13 to 17, and children 12 and under are free. The Museum is free on Friday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., made possible through the generous support of L.L.Bean and Patricia and Cyrus Hagge. No admission is required to visit the Museum Café and Store. For more information, call (207) 775-6148. Web site: portlandmuseum.org.