Winslow Homer famously had a sign on the grounds of his studio announcing the above to discourage visitors. He liked to play the part of the eccentric, reclusive, artist. The sign is currently in his studio in Prout’s Neck Maine:

The Portland Museum of Art bought Homer’s studio in 2006 and began a renovation project (it had been rented out as a summer cottage). It is now on the Historic Register and the Museum offers limited tours in the Spring, Summer and Fall. I’m always curious about other artists (past and present) workspaces, to see how they organize things and what inspires them and as a member of PMA I had always planned on going out to visit Homer’s studio.

It’s amazing how we take things in our own back yard for granted. Now that the date for our move is coming closer I’m finding myself wanting to get out and see local sites and go to local restaurants more knowing that they won’t be so readily available soon. So we finally made it to Homer’s studio this week. I can certainly see why he picked the spot.

Here is the view of the studio from the yard:

And the view of the sea from the second floor balcony:

The studio was originally a carriage house for the house next door that belonged to his brother and benefactor. It was moved to the adjacent lot and renovated by a local architect, John Calvin Stevens with work completed in 1884. Homer would die here in 1910.

The museum did an excellent job with the restoration, even preserving some of his handwritten notes on the walls of the living room and a pane of glass in the library into which he scratched his name.

He completed some of his best known oils here including “Weatherbeaten” which is a view of approximately this piece of shorefront from his daily walk along the shore:

Though the tide doesn’t line up, it was a much rougher day and I didn’t get the angles quite right. Click here to see the actual “Weatherbeaten” which is in the collection of the Portland Museum of art.

Unfortunately his painting room has not been fully restored (I would have loved to see how he had his easels and paints laid out) but it was nice just to see the light that filled the space from these glorious windows:

It is a pretty small room, just 400 square feet so I don’t feel quite so cramped in my current spare bedroom space (my planned studio on the second floor of our new house seems a luxury!)

The tour takes 2 and a half hours and leaves from the PMA lobby. If you are an artist or just want a glimpse into an artist’s life I highly recommend it.

I was particularly taken with the two juniper trees on the grounds which Homer had pruned in the “Japanese Manner”. I will leave you with one of the many photos I took of them that day: