Fine Art Poster
From $29
A giclée print on 200gsm matte fine art paper, using a twelve-colour process for accurate, fade-resistant colour. Supplied unframed, delivered flat or rolled.
Skating at Boston - Winslow Homer
Regular price
$29.00 USD
Sale price
$29.00 USD
Regular price
Archival giclée
Frames arrive ready to hang
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Made to order
Description
A detailed wood engraving by Winslow Homer, originally published in 1859, depicting a lively winter scene of ice skating in Boston.
Published in Harper's Weekly on 12 March 1859, this wood engraving captures a winter scene on the ice in Boston. Winslow Homer, who began his career as a commercial illustrator, produced this work during his early years in the city. The composition depicts a variety of figures engaged in social activity, ranging from those gracefully gliding to others who have fallen. The central focus is a woman seated in a decorative ice chair, pushed by a gentleman, which was a common pastime for the period.
Homer employs a clear, descriptive style typical of mid-nineteenth-century periodical illustration. The figures are rendered with attention to the fashion of the era, including heavy coats, top hats, and bonnets. The background features simple architectural forms that suggest a city setting, providing context for the urban recreation. The lines are precise, reflecting the technical requirements of wood engraving for mass-market printing. This work offers a glimpse into the social habits of the American middle class before the onset of the American Civil War.
Unlike his later, more atmospheric watercolours, this early print demonstrates Homer's ability to organise a crowded scene into a coherent narrative. The interaction between the individuals, such as the person kneeling to adjust a skate and the figure lying on the ice, adds a sense of immediacy to the image. It is a document of its time, showing how public spaces were utilised for leisure. The print remains a valuable example of the graphic work that supported Homer's transition into a professional artist. By focusing on the mundane details of daily life, he provides a record of nineteenth-century social customs in New England.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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We ship worldwide, printing at the production hub nearest to your delivery address. Delivery times and costs vary by destination — you'll see the options available to you at checkout.
Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Complete The Look
Skating at Boston - Winslow Homer
Regular price
From $29.00 USD
Sale price
From $29.00 USD
Regular price
Fine Art Poster / A4 (21x29.7 cm) / -
Artist Biography
Winslow Homer
Homer started as an illustrator for Harper's Weekly, covering the American Civil War. He was not a soldier. He was a correspondent, sketching camp life, sharpshooters, and prisoners with the detached accuracy of a reporter. The war drawings were published as wood engravings and brought him national attention. He was twenty-five.
He moved from illustration to painting without formal training, learning oil technique largely by observation. His early paintings are genre scenes of rural American life: children playing, women on croquet lawns, the kind of post-war pastoral that the public wanted. They sold well. He was dissatisfied with them.
In 1881 he went to Cullercoats, a fishing village in northeast England, and spent two years painting the women who waited on the shore for the fishing boats to return. The Cullercoats paintings are darker, more dramatic, and more serious than anything he had made before. The sea became his subject.
He moved to Prouts Neck, Maine, in 1883 and lived there, mostly alone, for the rest of his life. The Maine paintings, The Gulf Stream, Northeaster, Right and Left, are about the confrontation between human beings and the ocean. The figures are small. The water is enormous. The light is cold. He painted the sea the way Constable painted clouds: from direct observation, over years, until he understood its behaviour.
His watercolours, made on fishing trips to the Adirondacks, Florida, and the Bahamas, are freer and more experimental than the oils. Tropical sunlight and clear water brought out colours he did not use in Maine. He died in 1910, at seventy-four.
He moved from illustration to painting without formal training, learning oil technique largely by observation. His early paintings are genre scenes of rural American life: children playing, women on croquet lawns, the kind of post-war pastoral that the public wanted. They sold well. He was dissatisfied with them.
In 1881 he went to Cullercoats, a fishing village in northeast England, and spent two years painting the women who waited on the shore for the fishing boats to return. The Cullercoats paintings are darker, more dramatic, and more serious than anything he had made before. The sea became his subject.
He moved to Prouts Neck, Maine, in 1883 and lived there, mostly alone, for the rest of his life. The Maine paintings, The Gulf Stream, Northeaster, Right and Left, are about the confrontation between human beings and the ocean. The figures are small. The water is enormous. The light is cold. He painted the sea the way Constable painted clouds: from direct observation, over years, until he understood its behaviour.
His watercolours, made on fishing trips to the Adirondacks, Florida, and the Bahamas, are freer and more experimental than the oils. Tropical sunlight and clear water brought out colours he did not use in Maine. He died in 1910, at seventy-four.
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Every piece is printed to order. These are the five finishes, and what makes each one different.
Fine Art Framed
From $89
The same fine art print in a solid wood frame with UV-protective acrylic glaze and rigid backing. Five frame colours. Arrives ready to hang.
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