Where Winslow Homer Goes to Fish and Paint

When Winslow Homer first came to Homosassa, Fla. to fish in the winter of 1904, he wrote to his brother Arthur, “The climate here is delightful, it’s as cool as our September—hunting for the best in America I could find.”

The artist would remain to paint some of his brightest watercolors: fishing on the forest-like banks of the Homosassa River: black perch jumping out of the water; and the Shell Heap, an ancient rubbish heap left by the first Native Americans.

Homer worked in watercolors overseas and north, as well as in many parts of Florida and the Bahamas, where he traveled to escape the harsh Maine winters. Florida works had a fresh, light quality that was quite different from the artist’s still best-known oil paintings.

Homer, who died in 1910, made four trips to Florida between 1904 and 1909 and painted some of his last watercolors there: he often works where the dense forest quality of the shoreline plays against the shimmering waters.

But trips to Homosassa on Florida’s west coast, two hours north of Sarasota and one hour west of Tampa, seemed to offer the opportunity not only to paint and fish, but also to socialize with other loyal fishermen. discovered the small town. Said to have fished the Homosassa River included former president Grover Cleveland and financier John Jacob Astor.

While the medium of watercolor was not considered very important in Homer’s early life, it helped bring the medium’s visibility after 1873, when the American Society of Watercolor Painters organized an international exhibition of works by American and European artists.

Homer seems to have developed a particular fondness for watercolor in a letter to the painter George Sheldon: It is only half right to make these works and take them home. You gain composition, but you lose your freshness.”

Sarah Burns, who worked with author Patricia Junker on the book “Winslow Homer the Artist and Angler” Of Homer’s letter to Sheldon, he said: “This was one of the rare occasions when Homer expressed his views on art, truth, and reality.”

Today Homosassa is still an attraction for fishermen who come hoping to catch trout, red drum and grouper, among other fish species. I took the two-and-a-half hour trip from Sarasota, past Tampa on long straight highways that were surprisingly uncrowded for Florida.

Decades ago, Homosassa was the mecca of tarpon fly fishing, as sportswriter Monte Burke noted. “Lords of the Flies” The book about that period. Writing on a variety of sports, Mr. Burke is the son of famous financier Thomas Mellon Evans Jr., who spends nearly every May chasing the tarpon migrating north. He wrote that some of the biggest tarpon fishermen gather there during the season, including on the coastline up to Homosassa.

In fact, the largest tarpon ever recorded on a fly rod was James Holland Jr., who was just 25 years old at the time. on Homosassa, and when he threw a 202-pound 8-ounce monster in 2001, Mr. Burke wrote. There are still tarpon fishermen who fish today, but fewer tarpons visit Homosassa Bay than historically.

The nearly 8-mile-long Homosassa river runs west from Homosassa Springs to the Gulf of Mexico and changes from saltwater to freshwater as it moves inland. The central life of the small town is still concentrated in the cozy, cozy resorts on the riverbank where numerous fishing boats pull. One of the popular places, MacRae’s, It includes a motel, restaurant, shop and a busy boat dock where one can see manatees playing in the water or a fisherman returning with a log grouper. running Captain Erica Toney Manatee Tours and MoreHe says he often takes visitors on a pontoon boat for manatee cruises on the river in season or snorkeling for scallops in the bay.

Pelicans do not hesitate to walk along the docks, where veteran fishermen know how to pass a piece of fish over one of the birds’ long beaks without cutting their hands. If a visitor gets too close, the herons will slide into the water and move forward with ease.

Just adjacent to the marina is a sprawling white two-story home known as the Homosassa Inn, which once housed 14 guest rooms; private residence of the MacRae family, who now own the motel and marina.

It is not open to tourists, although it is clearly visible from the parking lot on the quay. However, Kathy Macrae is the keeper of the place and invited me in and showed me a guest book in which Winslow Homer was signed by Helen Willard, then owner of the inn, for $18 a week’s stay. During one visit, Homer rented a car and a car to pick up his luggage from the train station. He also used a boat and guide to row along the river, where the water was particularly clear, as he drew and fished. Ms. MacRae, who is in her 60s, revealed that her grandparents bought the building from Mrs Willard in 1915.

The size of the fish Homer was looking for made an impression on the great artist. In a letter to his seller, M. Knoedler, he explained that in a watercolor bass jump, he added a bottle to the water to help show the fish’s size. Today, on a boat cruise along Homosassa from Macrae to the Bay, you feel the same air of mystery as you gaze at the dark trees and bushes that line the riverbanks. To get a good understanding of the river, you can hire a pontoon boat from Miss Toney or from various parts of Homosassa. Island Girl Cruises. (Mrs. Toney can take six passengers and charges $40 for two hours. Island Girl can take 19 passengers and charges $25 for two hours.)

Tiny Homosassa has no original Homers, but there is a permanent exhibition of prints of some of his work in the local library. ( Metropolitan Museum of Art There are nearly 90 oil and watercolor exhibitions called “Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents” currently on display in New York. critic Roberta Smith called it “explanatory”.)

At least four Florida museums have Homer’s watercolors. Sam and the Roberta Vickers family have recently given Florida residents a large collection of Florida artwork, including Homer’s “Foul Hooked Black Bass.” Harn Art Museum On the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. Norton Museum in Palm Beach and also Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum on Daytona Beach and Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens They all have a Homer piece in Jacksonville.

Homosassa may not be a particularly well-known tourist destination, but it has produced its fair share of history beyond Homer’s fondness for the city. The first was that David Levy Yulee, the first Jewish member of the U.S. Senate, created a 5,100-acre sugarcane plantation in Homosassa that was run by enslaved Africans.

Mr. Yulee, who later became part of the US Virgin Islands, St. He was born in Charlotte Amalie on the island of Thomas. There was a small Jewish population there, and his father was a Moroccan Jewish businessman who made his living from timber. In the 1820s, the family moved to Mr. Yulee’s St. Augustine, where he studied law and became deeply involved in the railroad business. He entered politics and was elected as a Democrat to the Senate in 1845.

Yulee, an aggressive supporter of the Confederacy, named after his father after being elected, lost his plantation during the Civil War. After the war, he was briefly imprisoned in Pulaski Castle. Jewish Virtual Library.

A short drive from the beach, you can visit the ruins of the sugar plantation and see the 40-foot wall chimney, the iron gears and the cane press. In the field, sugar, molasses, and eventually rum are processed from sugarcane.

For those who want to linger, dining by the water is one of Homosassa’s delights, whether it’s a casual lunch or dinner at The Shed on the quay in Macrae; or across the river Crump’s Descent. Live music is offered at both locations. Marguerita’s Grill It has a menu with everything from fried green beans to shrimp and semolina and shrimp with tomatoes, feta, rum and lime. Main courses including sandwiches are around $15.

Sitting by the water, the person reminds me of Florida’s appeal to fishermen like Homer: “This place seems to me to be made by divine providence.”