Starred Review. Beginning as a lithographer's apprentice, iconic American painter Winslow Homer (1836-1910) learned the basics of drawing and etching without ever receiving a serious artistic education, developing his skill through practical experience and intense observation. As editor and Art Institute of Chicago curator Tedeschi relates, the artist was obsessed with the ability to depict light properly in its limitless incarnations. Though he was accomplished in a variety of mediums, Homer found watercolors to be the most efficient for what Tedeschi calls "his dedicated examination of the relationship between color, light, and water." Besides reproducing a stunning array of Homer's watercolor paintings, the text offers highly specific description of the artist's process and materials, articulating the different uses of opaque and transparent watercolors and varying paper textures in a technical but reader-friendly manner. Though critics agree that Homer's attention to light and color are entirely his own, the text is also thorough in examining Homer's influences, from Impressionism to the English Aesthetic Movement, as well as his conceptual ties to his contemporary, Walt Whitman. The result is a superior read for those seeking an introduction to the medium of watercolors or an exploration of Homer's work. 275 color illustrations.

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