Passage #16

Passage III

Humanities: This passage is adapted from the article "Winslow Homer: His Melancholy Truth" by John A. Parks (@2006 by VNU Business Media).

The images in the paintings of Winslow Homer

epitomize a peculiarly American 19th-century world.

Through Homer's eyes, it is a world in which people

live in close contact with nature and natural forces, a

5 world where landscape and ocean are viewed not as a

paradise but as powers and presences that can be

enjoyed and whose threats can sometimes be overcome.

And, particularly in his later paintings, it is a world

imbued with a stark and melancholy atmosphere.

10 In 1867, two of Homer's canvases were chosen to

hang at the Great Exposition in Paris. The artist spent

10 months in the city, which later proved to have a pro-

found effect on his art. A large display of Japanese

prints was exhibited in the same building as his own

15 paintings, and the process of simplification that it

revealed and the wealth of pictorial invention it pro-

vided made a deep impression on the artist. The influ-

ence of Japanese art on Homer's painting was

immediately apparent upon his return to the United

20 States. The weakness of earlier compositions is

replaced by a boldness and lucidity in which simple

shapes are massed into powerful designs.

Although Homer's work of the 1870s gained

strength, the artist continued to paint his genre subjects:

25 tourist scenes, schoolchildren, and farm life. It wasn't

until 1881, however, that he found the subject matter

that would inspire him most. In that year, for reasons

unknown, Homer went to England, where he elected to

spend the summer at the town of Tynemouth on the

30 coast of the North Sea. It is possible that he was search-

ing for a town filled with the type of tourists and

bathers that made his paintings of the Jersey shore suc-

cessful back home. But Tynemouth was also a commu-

nity of fishermen who wrested their livelihood from the

35 dangerous and unpredictable waters of the North Sea.

Moreover, the light and weather in that part of the

world, so much farther north than Atlantic City, is

much gloomier and more dramatic than that of the

Jersey coast. It was there that Homer became enthralled

40 by the dramas of the people who make their living from

the ocean: the fishermen's wives staring out to sea as

they wait for their men, the launch of the lifeboat to

rescue sailors from a foundering ship, the agonizingly

fragile fishing boats being tossed on angry waves. Here

45 at last was a subject matter that matched the artist's

deepest feelings. The dynamic and dangerous relation-

ship between human activity and natural forces exposed

in this setting would occupy Homer for many years to

come. On his return to America he elected to leave New

50 York and relocate to the rural town of Prouts Neck,

Maine.

The legend of Winslow Homer is that he left New

York civilization to become a recluse on the coast of

Maine for the last 25 years of his life. In reality, the

55 property at Prouts Neck--which included a large, ram-

bling hotel building--was purchased by his brother

Charles for the whole extended Homer family. The

artist also built a studio with an ocean view just yards

away from the family house so throughout the summers

60 he could enjoy the company of his father, his brothers

and their wives, as well as the year-round guests of the

many local people whose friendship he valued. Homer

continued to travel frequently, spending parts of the

winter in the Caribbean. But the artist always lived

65 alone, and when he was working, which was the large

part of most of his days, he could be extremely short-

tempered when interrupted.

The sea outside his window now inspired the artist

to create what came to be known as his greatest paint-

70 ings. The maine coast is extremely rocky and prone to

monstrous gales that--at their most powerful--can

whip up the waves to 40 or 50 feet. Screaming winds

can rip across the breakers, creating long horizontal

trails of spray. Homer rendered this sea with all the

75 understanding of a painter who knows to simplify and

synthesize. In paintings such as Eastern Point and

Cannon Rock the construction of the water has been

reorganized into clear graphic shapes and strong direc-

tional lines that echo the Japanese printmaking that had

80 such a lasting effect on his work. The rocks in the

paintings are massed into powerful, almost flat, designs

and the brushing has become energetic, as though feed-

ing from the physical strength of the ocean. These

paintings take on an abstract grandeur that has justly

85 made them famous. They remain, however, haunting

evocations of the eternal power of the ocean.

Question 21

The main purpose of the passage is to:

• describe an artist's most famous painting and the experience that inspired it.

• explore the relationship between the natural world and the fine arts.

• provide an overview of an artist's career and important influences on that artist's work.

• describe the work of artists who epitomized a peculiarly American nineteenth-century world.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

Passage III

Humanities: This passage is adapted from the article "Winslow Homer: His Melancholy Truth" by John A. Parks (@2006 by VNU Business Media).

The images in the paintings of Winslow Homer

epitomize a peculiarly American 19th-century world.

Through Homer's eyes, it is a world in which people

live in close contact with nature and natural forces, a

5 world where landscape and ocean are viewed not as a

paradise but as powers and presences that can be

enjoyed and whose threats can sometimes be overcome.

And, particularly in his later paintings, it is a world

imbued with a stark and melancholy atmosphere.

10 In 1867, two of Homer's canvases were chosen to

hang at the Great Exposition in Paris. The artist spent

10 months in the city, which later proved to have a pro-

found effect on his art. A large display of Japanese

prints was exhibited in the same building as his own

15 paintings, and the process of simplification that it

revealed and the wealth of pictorial invention it pro-

vided made a deep impression on the artist. The influ-

ence of Japanese art on Homer's painting was

immediately apparent upon his return to the United

20 States. The weakness of earlier compositions is

replaced by a boldness and lucidity in which simple

shapes are massed into powerful designs.

Although Homer's work of the 1870s gained

strength, the artist continued to paint his genre subjects:

25 tourist scenes, schoolchildren, and farm life. It wasn't

until 1881, however, that he found the subject matter

that would inspire him most. In that year, for reasons

unknown, Homer went to England, where he elected to

spend the summer at the town of Tynemouth on the

30 coast of the North Sea. It is possible that he was search-

ing for a town filled with the type of tourists and

bathers that made his paintings of the Jersey shore suc-

cessful back home. But Tynemouth was also a commu-

nity of fishermen who wrested their livelihood from the

35 dangerous and unpredictable waters of the North Sea.

Moreover, the light and weather in that part of the

world, so much farther north than Atlantic City, is

much gloomier and more dramatic than that of the

Jersey coast. It was there that Homer became enthralled

40 by the dramas of the people who make their living from

the ocean: the fishermen's wives staring out to sea as

they wait for their men, the launch of the lifeboat to

rescue sailors from a foundering ship, the agonizingly

fragile fishing boats being tossed on angry waves. Here

45 at last was a subject matter that matched the artist's

deepest feelings. The dynamic and dangerous relation-

ship between human activity and natural forces exposed

in this setting would occupy Homer for many years to

come. On his return to America he elected to leave New

50 York and relocate to the rural town of Prouts Neck,

Maine.

The legend of Winslow Homer is that he left New

York civilization to become a recluse on the coast of

Maine for the last 25 years of his life. In reality, the

55 property at Prouts Neck--which included a large, ram-

bling hotel building--was purchased by his brother

Charles for the whole extended Homer family. The

artist also built a studio with an ocean view just yards

away from the family house so throughout the summers

60 he could enjoy the company of his father, his brothers

and their wives, as well as the year-round guests of the

many local people whose friendship he valued. Homer

continued to travel frequently, spending parts of the

winter in the Caribbean. But the artist always lived

65 alone, and when he was working, which was the large

part of most of his days, he could be extremely short-

tempered when interrupted.

The sea outside his window now inspired the artist

to create what came to be known as his greatest paint-

70 ings. The maine coast is extremely rocky and prone to

monstrous gales that--at their most powerful--can

whip up the waves to 40 or 50 feet. Screaming winds

can rip across the breakers, creating long horizontal

trails of spray. Homer rendered this sea with all the

75 understanding of a painter who knows to simplify and

synthesize. In paintings such as Eastern Point and

Cannon Rock the construction of the water has been

reorganized into clear graphic shapes and strong direc-

tional lines that echo the Japanese printmaking that had

80 such a lasting effect on his work. The rocks in the

paintings are massed into powerful, almost flat, designs

and the brushing has become energetic, as though feed-

ing from the physical strength of the ocean. These

paintings take on an abstract grandeur that has justly

85 made them famous. They remain, however, haunting

evocations of the eternal power of the ocean.

Question 22

It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that which of the following scenes would most likely be the subject of a painting created by Homer late in his life?

• A family strolling along the boardwalk in Atlantic City

• A fishing boat being violently pitched about on a stormy ocean

• A farm nestled in the idyllic countryside

• A tourist sipping coffee at a Parisian cafe

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Passage III

Humanities: This passage is adapted from the article "Winslow Homer: His Melancholy Truth" by John A. Parks (@2006 by VNU Business Media).

The images in the paintings of Winslow Homer

epitomize a peculiarly American 19th-century world.

Through Homer's eyes, it is a world in which people

live in close contact with nature and natural forces, a

5 world where landscape and ocean are viewed not as a

paradise but as powers and presences that can be

enjoyed and whose threats can sometimes be overcome.

And, particularly in his later paintings, it is a world

imbued with a stark and melancholy atmosphere.

10 In 1867, two of Homer's canvases were chosen to

hang at the Great Exposition in Paris. The artist spent

10 months in the city, which later proved to have a pro-

found effect on his art. A large display of Japanese

prints was exhibited in the same building as his own

15 paintings, and the process of simplification that it

revealed and the wealth of pictorial invention it pro-

vided made a deep impression on the artist. The influ-

ence of Japanese art on Homer's painting was

immediately apparent upon his return to the United

20 States. The weakness of earlier compositions is

replaced by a boldness and lucidity in which simple

shapes are massed into powerful designs.

Although Homer's work of the 1870s gained

strength, the artist continued to paint his genre subjects:

25 tourist scenes, schoolchildren, and farm life. It wasn't

until 1881, however, that he found the subject matter

that would inspire him most. In that year, for reasons

unknown, Homer went to England, where he elected to

spend the summer at the town of Tynemouth on the

30 coast of the North Sea. It is possible that he was search-

ing for a town filled with the type of tourists and

bathers that made his paintings of the Jersey shore suc-

cessful back home. But Tynemouth was also a commu-

nity of fishermen who wrested their livelihood from the

35 dangerous and unpredictable waters of the North Sea.

Moreover, the light and weather in that part of the

world, so much farther north than Atlantic City, is

much gloomier and more dramatic than that of the

Jersey coast. It was there that Homer became enthralled

40 by the dramas of the people who make their living from

the ocean: the fishermen's wives staring out to sea as

they wait for their men, the launch of the lifeboat to

rescue sailors from a foundering ship, the agonizingly

fragile fishing boats being tossed on angry waves. Here

45 at last was a subject matter that matched the artist's

deepest feelings. The dynamic and dangerous relation-

ship between human activity and natural forces exposed

in this setting would occupy Homer for many years to

come. On his return to America he elected to leave New

50 York and relocate to the rural town of Prouts Neck,

Maine.

The legend of Winslow Homer is that he left New

York civilization to become a recluse on the coast of

Maine for the last 25 years of his life. In reality, the

55 property at Prouts Neck--which included a large, ram-

bling hotel building--was purchased by his brother

Charles for the whole extended Homer family. The

artist also built a studio with an ocean view just yards

away from the family house so throughout the summers

60 he could enjoy the company of his father, his brothers

and their wives, as well as the year-round guests of the

many local people whose friendship he valued. Homer

continued to travel frequently, spending parts of the

winter in the Caribbean. But the artist always lived

65 alone, and when he was working, which was the large

part of most of his days, he could be extremely short-

tempered when interrupted.

The sea outside his window now inspired the artist

to create what came to be known as his greatest paint-

70 ings. The maine coast is extremely rocky and prone to

monstrous gales that--at their most powerful--can

whip up the waves to 40 or 50 feet. Screaming winds

can rip across the breakers, creating long horizontal

trails of spray. Homer rendered this sea with all the

75 understanding of a painter who knows to simplify and

synthesize. In paintings such as Eastern Point and

Cannon Rock the construction of the water has been

reorganized into clear graphic shapes and strong direc-

tional lines that echo the Japanese printmaking that had

80 such a lasting effect on his work. The rocks in the

paintings are massed into powerful, almost flat, designs

and the brushing has become energetic, as though feed-

ing from the physical strength of the ocean. These

paintings take on an abstract grandeur that has justly

85 made them famous. They remain, however, haunting

evocations of the eternal power of the ocean.

Question 23

Based on the passage, the way Homer depicted shapes in his early work and the way he depicted them in his later work is best described as shifting from:

• weak to powerful

• sharp to rounded

• dark to light

• uplifting to melancholy

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.7

CCSS.RI.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.8.7

CCSS.RL.9-10.7

Passage III

Humanities: This passage is adapted from the article "Winslow Homer: His Melancholy Truth" by John A. Parks (@2006 by VNU Business Media).

The images in the paintings of Winslow Homer

epitomize a peculiarly American 19th-century world.

Through Homer's eyes, it is a world in which people

live in close contact with nature and natural forces, a

5 world where landscape and ocean are viewed not as a

paradise but as powers and presences that can be

enjoyed and whose threats can sometimes be overcome.

And, particularly in his later paintings, it is a world

imbued with a stark and melancholy atmosphere.

10 In 1867, two of Homer's canvases were chosen to

hang at the Great Exposition in Paris. The artist spent

10 months in the city, which later proved to have a pro-

found effect on his art. A large display of Japanese

prints was exhibited in the same building as his own

15 paintings, and the process of simplification that it

revealed and the wealth of pictorial invention it pro-

vided made a deep impression on the artist. The influ-

ence of Japanese art on Homer's painting was

immediately apparent upon his return to the United

20 States. The weakness of earlier compositions is

replaced by a boldness and lucidity in which simple

shapes are massed into powerful designs.

Although Homer's work of the 1870s gained

strength, the artist continued to paint his genre subjects:

25 tourist scenes, schoolchildren, and farm life. It wasn't

until 1881, however, that he found the subject matter

that would inspire him most. In that year, for reasons

unknown, Homer went to England, where he elected to

spend the summer at the town of Tynemouth on the

30 coast of the North Sea. It is possible that he was search-

ing for a town filled with the type of tourists and

bathers that made his paintings of the Jersey shore suc-

cessful back home. But Tynemouth was also a commu-

nity of fishermen who wrested their livelihood from the

35 dangerous and unpredictable waters of the North Sea.

Moreover, the light and weather in that part of the

world, so much farther north than Atlantic City, is

much gloomier and more dramatic than that of the

Jersey coast. It was there that Homer became enthralled

40 by the dramas of the people who make their living from

the ocean: the fishermen's wives staring out to sea as

they wait for their men, the launch of the lifeboat to

rescue sailors from a foundering ship, the agonizingly

fragile fishing boats being tossed on angry waves. Here

45 at last was a subject matter that matched the artist's

deepest feelings. The dynamic and dangerous relation-

ship between human activity and natural forces exposed

in this setting would occupy Homer for many years to

come. On his return to America he elected to leave New

50 York and relocate to the rural town of Prouts Neck,

Maine.

The legend of Winslow Homer is that he left New

York civilization to become a recluse on the coast of

Maine for the last 25 years of his life. In reality, the

55 property at Prouts Neck--which included a large, ram-

bling hotel building--was purchased by his brother

Charles for the whole extended Homer family. The

artist also built a studio with an ocean view just yards

away from the family house so throughout the summers

60 he could enjoy the company of his father, his brothers

and their wives, as well as the year-round guests of the

many local people whose friendship he valued. Homer

continued to travel frequently, spending parts of the

winter in the Caribbean. But the artist always lived

65 alone, and when he was working, which was the large

part of most of his days, he could be extremely short-

tempered when interrupted.

The sea outside his window now inspired the artist

to create what came to be known as his greatest paint-

70 ings. The maine coast is extremely rocky and prone to

monstrous gales that--at their most powerful--can

whip up the waves to 40 or 50 feet. Screaming winds

can rip across the breakers, creating long horizontal

trails of spray. Homer rendered this sea with all the

75 understanding of a painter who knows to simplify and

synthesize. In paintings such as Eastern Point and

Cannon Rock the construction of the water has been

reorganized into clear graphic shapes and strong direc-

tional lines that echo the Japanese printmaking that had

80 such a lasting effect on his work. The rocks in the

paintings are massed into powerful, almost flat, designs

and the brushing has become energetic, as though feed-

ing from the physical strength of the ocean. These

paintings take on an abstract grandeur that has justly

85 made them famous. They remain, however, haunting

evocations of the eternal power of the ocean.

Question 24

According to the passage, Homer felt fascination for the subjects that inspired him at Tynemouth for a:

• short time; Homer soon abandoned them for the genre subjects he'd been painting previously.

• short time; Homer found little commercial success painting those subjects.

• long time; Homer regularly returned to Tynemouth to paint.

• long time; Homer continued to be inspired by what he saw there for years.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Passage III

Humanities: This passage is adapted from the article "Winslow Homer: His Melancholy Truth" by John A. Parks (@2006 by VNU Business Media).

The images in the paintings of Winslow Homer

epitomize a peculiarly American 19th-century world.

Through Homer's eyes, it is a world in which people

live in close contact with nature and natural forces, a

5 world where landscape and ocean are viewed not as a

paradise but as powers and presences that can be

enjoyed and whose threats can sometimes be overcome.

And, particularly in his later paintings, it is a world

imbued with a stark and melancholy atmosphere.

10 In 1867, two of Homer's canvases were chosen to

hang at the Great Exposition in Paris. The artist spent

10 months in the city, which later proved to have a pro-

found effect on his art. A large display of Japanese

prints was exhibited in the same building as his own

15 paintings, and the process of simplification that it

revealed and the wealth of pictorial invention it pro-

vided made a deep impression on the artist. The influ-

ence of Japanese art on Homer's painting was

immediately apparent upon his return to the United

20 States. The weakness of earlier compositions is

replaced by a boldness and lucidity in which simple

shapes are massed into powerful designs.

Although Homer's work of the 1870s gained

strength, the artist continued to paint his genre subjects:

25 tourist scenes, schoolchildren, and farm life. It wasn't

until 1881, however, that he found the subject matter

that would inspire him most. In that year, for reasons

unknown, Homer went to England, where he elected to

spend the summer at the town of Tynemouth on the

30 coast of the North Sea. It is possible that he was search-

ing for a town filled with the type of tourists and

bathers that made his paintings of the Jersey shore suc-

cessful back home. But Tynemouth was also a commu-

nity of fishermen who wrested their livelihood from the

35 dangerous and unpredictable waters of the North Sea.

Moreover, the light and weather in that part of the

world, so much farther north than Atlantic City, is

much gloomier and more dramatic than that of the

Jersey coast. It was there that Homer became enthralled

40 by the dramas of the people who make their living from

the ocean: the fishermen's wives staring out to sea as

they wait for their men, the launch of the lifeboat to

rescue sailors from a foundering ship, the agonizingly

fragile fishing boats being tossed on angry waves. Here

45 at last was a subject matter that matched the artist's

deepest feelings. The dynamic and dangerous relation-

ship between human activity and natural forces exposed

in this setting would occupy Homer for many years to

come. On his return to America he elected to leave New

50 York and relocate to the rural town of Prouts Neck,

Maine.

The legend of Winslow Homer is that he left New

York civilization to become a recluse on the coast of

Maine for the last 25 years of his life. In reality, the

55 property at Prouts Neck--which included a large, ram-

bling hotel building--was purchased by his brother

Charles for the whole extended Homer family. The

artist also built a studio with an ocean view just yards

away from the family house so throughout the summers

60 he could enjoy the company of his father, his brothers

and their wives, as well as the year-round guests of the

many local people whose friendship he valued. Homer

continued to travel frequently, spending parts of the

winter in the Caribbean. But the artist always lived

65 alone, and when he was working, which was the large

part of most of his days, he could be extremely short-

tempered when interrupted.

The sea outside his window now inspired the artist

to create what came to be known as his greatest paint-

70 ings. The maine coast is extremely rocky and prone to

monstrous gales that--at their most powerful--can

whip up the waves to 40 or 50 feet. Screaming winds

can rip across the breakers, creating long horizontal

trails of spray. Homer rendered this sea with all the

75 understanding of a painter who knows to simplify and

synthesize. In paintings such as Eastern Point and

Cannon Rock the construction of the water has been

reorganized into clear graphic shapes and strong direc-

tional lines that echo the Japanese printmaking that had

80 such a lasting effect on his work. The rocks in the

paintings are massed into powerful, almost flat, designs

and the brushing has become energetic, as though feed-

ing from the physical strength of the ocean. These

paintings take on an abstract grandeur that has justly

85 made them famous. They remain, however, haunting

evocations of the eternal power of the ocean.

Question 25

According to the passage, the paintings that Tynemouth inspired Homer to create mainly featured:

• scenes of tourists and sunbathers enjoying the beach.

• the interplay between the sea and the lives of fishermen and their families.

• the dynamic struggle between farmers and the powerful forces of nature.

• the soothing yet dramatic beauty of the North Sea and its rocky shoreline.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

Passage III

Humanities: This passage is adapted from the article "Winslow Homer: His Melancholy Truth" by John A. Parks (@2006 by VNU Business Media).

The images in the paintings of Winslow Homer

epitomize a peculiarly American 19th-century world.

Through Homer's eyes, it is a world in which people

live in close contact with nature and natural forces, a

5 world where landscape and ocean are viewed not as a

paradise but as powers and presences that can be

enjoyed and whose threats can sometimes be overcome.

And, particularly in his later paintings, it is a world

imbued with a stark and melancholy atmosphere.

10 In 1867, two of Homer's canvases were chosen to

hang at the Great Exposition in Paris. The artist spent

10 months in the city, which later proved to have a pro-

found effect on his art. A large display of Japanese

prints was exhibited in the same building as his own

15 paintings, and the process of simplification that it

revealed and the wealth of pictorial invention it pro-

vided made a deep impression on the artist. The influ-

ence of Japanese art on Homer's painting was

immediately apparent upon his return to the United

20 States. The weakness of earlier compositions is

replaced by a boldness and lucidity in which simple

shapes are massed into powerful designs.

Although Homer's work of the 1870s gained

strength, the artist continued to paint his genre subjects:

25 tourist scenes, schoolchildren, and farm life. It wasn't

until 1881, however, that he found the subject matter

that would inspire him most. In that year, for reasons

unknown, Homer went to England, where he elected to

spend the summer at the town of Tynemouth on the

30 coast of the North Sea. It is possible that he was search-

ing for a town filled with the type of tourists and

bathers that made his paintings of the Jersey shore suc-

cessful back home. But Tynemouth was also a commu-

nity of fishermen who wrested their livelihood from the

35 dangerous and unpredictable waters of the North Sea.

Moreover, the light and weather in that part of the

world, so much farther north than Atlantic City, is

much gloomier and more dramatic than that of the

Jersey coast. It was there that Homer became enthralled

40 by the dramas of the people who make their living from

the ocean: the fishermen's wives staring out to sea as

they wait for their men, the launch of the lifeboat to

rescue sailors from a foundering ship, the agonizingly

fragile fishing boats being tossed on angry waves. Here

45 at last was a subject matter that matched the artist's

deepest feelings. The dynamic and dangerous relation-

ship between human activity and natural forces exposed

in this setting would occupy Homer for many years to

come. On his return to America he elected to leave New

50 York and relocate to the rural town of Prouts Neck,

Maine.

The legend of Winslow Homer is that he left New

York civilization to become a recluse on the coast of

Maine for the last 25 years of his life. In reality, the

55 property at Prouts Neck--which included a large, ram-

bling hotel building--was purchased by his brother

Charles for the whole extended Homer family. The

artist also built a studio with an ocean view just yards

away from the family house so throughout the summers

60 he could enjoy the company of his father, his brothers

and their wives, as well as the year-round guests of the

many local people whose friendship he valued. Homer

continued to travel frequently, spending parts of the

winter in the Caribbean. But the artist always lived

65 alone, and when he was working, which was the large

part of most of his days, he could be extremely short-

tempered when interrupted.

The sea outside his window now inspired the artist

to create what came to be known as his greatest paint-

70 ings. The maine coast is extremely rocky and prone to

monstrous gales that--at their most powerful--can

whip up the waves to 40 or 50 feet. Screaming winds

can rip across the breakers, creating long horizontal

trails of spray. Homer rendered this sea with all the

75 understanding of a painter who knows to simplify and

synthesize. In paintings such as Eastern Point and

Cannon Rock the construction of the water has been

reorganized into clear graphic shapes and strong direc-

tional lines that echo the Japanese printmaking that had

80 such a lasting effect on his work. The rocks in the

paintings are massed into powerful, almost flat, designs

and the brushing has become energetic, as though feed-

ing from the physical strength of the ocean. These

paintings take on an abstract grandeur that has justly

85 made them famous. They remain, however, haunting

evocations of the eternal power of the ocean.

Question 26

The passage most strongly suggests that the main turning point in the development of Homer as an artist was his:

• discovery of subject matter that profoundly inspired him.

• sense of accomplishment at having paintings displayed at the Great Exposition.

• decision to spend winters in the Caribbean, where he was inspired by the sea.

• rejection of the belief that the world was stark and melancholy.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Passage III

Humanities: This passage is adapted from the article "Winslow Homer: His Melancholy Truth" by John A. Parks (@2006 by VNU Business Media).

The images in the paintings of Winslow Homer

epitomize a peculiarly American 19th-century world.

Through Homer's eyes, it is a world in which people

live in close contact with nature and natural forces, a

5 world where landscape and ocean are viewed not as a

paradise but as powers and presences that can be

enjoyed and whose threats can sometimes be overcome.

And, particularly in his later paintings, it is a world

imbued with a stark and melancholy atmosphere.

10 In 1867, two of Homer's canvases were chosen to

hang at the Great Exposition in Paris. The artist spent

10 months in the city, which later proved to have a pro-

found effect on his art. A large display of Japanese

prints was exhibited in the same building as his own

15 paintings, and the process of simplification that it

revealed and the wealth of pictorial invention it pro-

vided made a deep impression on the artist. The influ-

ence of Japanese art on Homer's painting was

immediately apparent upon his return to the United

20 States. The weakness of earlier compositions is

replaced by a boldness and lucidity in which simple

shapes are massed into powerful designs.

Although Homer's work of the 1870s gained

strength, the artist continued to paint his genre subjects:

25 tourist scenes, schoolchildren, and farm life. It wasn't

until 1881, however, that he found the subject matter

that would inspire him most. In that year, for reasons

unknown, Homer went to England, where he elected to

spend the summer at the town of Tynemouth on the

30 coast of the North Sea. It is possible that he was search-

ing for a town filled with the type of tourists and

bathers that made his paintings of the Jersey shore suc-

cessful back home. But Tynemouth was also a commu-

nity of fishermen who wrested their livelihood from the

35 dangerous and unpredictable waters of the North Sea.

Moreover, the light and weather in that part of the

world, so much farther north than Atlantic City, is

much gloomier and more dramatic than that of the

Jersey coast. It was there that Homer became enthralled

40 by the dramas of the people who make their living from

the ocean: the fishermen's wives staring out to sea as

they wait for their men, the launch of the lifeboat to

rescue sailors from a foundering ship, the agonizingly

fragile fishing boats being tossed on angry waves. Here

45 at last was a subject matter that matched the artist's

deepest feelings. The dynamic and dangerous relation-

ship between human activity and natural forces exposed

in this setting would occupy Homer for many years to

come. On his return to America he elected to leave New

50 York and relocate to the rural town of Prouts Neck,

Maine.

The legend of Winslow Homer is that he left New

York civilization to become a recluse on the coast of

Maine for the last 25 years of his life. In reality, the

55 property at Prouts Neck--which included a large, ram-

bling hotel building--was purchased by his brother

Charles for the whole extended Homer family. The

artist also built a studio with an ocean view just yards

away from the family house so throughout the summers

60 he could enjoy the company of his father, his brothers

and their wives, as well as the year-round guests of the

many local people whose friendship he valued. Homer

continued to travel frequently, spending parts of the

winter in the Caribbean. But the artist always lived

65 alone, and when he was working, which was the large

part of most of his days, he could be extremely short-

tempered when interrupted.

The sea outside his window now inspired the artist

to create what came to be known as his greatest paint-

70 ings. The maine coast is extremely rocky and prone to

monstrous gales that--at their most powerful--can

whip up the waves to 40 or 50 feet. Screaming winds

can rip across the breakers, creating long horizontal

trails of spray. Homer rendered this sea with all the

75 understanding of a painter who knows to simplify and

synthesize. In paintings such as Eastern Point and

Cannon Rock the construction of the water has been

reorganized into clear graphic shapes and strong direc-

tional lines that echo the Japanese printmaking that had

80 such a lasting effect on his work. The rocks in the

paintings are massed into powerful, almost flat, designs

and the brushing has become energetic, as though feed-

ing from the physical strength of the ocean. These

paintings take on an abstract grandeur that has justly

85 made them famous. They remain, however, haunting

evocations of the eternal power of the ocean.

Question 27

The author characterizes the immediate effect of experiences in Paris upon Homer's work as:

• subtle; Homer continued to paint simple shapes and powerful designs but used more color.

• dramatic; Homer's work became bolder and clearer.

• imperceptible; Homer's work didn't change until several years later.

• significant; Homer abandoned the subjects he'd been painting before his time in Paris.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

Passage III

Humanities: This passage is adapted from the article "Winslow Homer: His Melancholy Truth" by John A. Parks (@2006 by VNU Business Media).

The images in the paintings of Winslow Homer

epitomize a peculiarly American 19th-century world.

Through Homer's eyes, it is a world in which people

live in close contact with nature and natural forces, a

5 world where landscape and ocean are viewed not as a

paradise but as powers and presences that can be

enjoyed and whose threats can sometimes be overcome.

And, particularly in his later paintings, it is a world

imbued with a stark and melancholy atmosphere.

10 In 1867, two of Homer's canvases were chosen to

hang at the Great Exposition in Paris. The artist spent

10 months in the city, which later proved to have a pro-

found effect on his art. A large display of Japanese

prints was exhibited in the same building as his own

15 paintings, and the process of simplification that it

revealed and the wealth of pictorial invention it pro-

vided made a deep impression on the artist. The influ-

ence of Japanese art on Homer's painting was

immediately apparent upon his return to the United

20 States. The weakness of earlier compositions is

replaced by a boldness and lucidity in which simple

shapes are massed into powerful designs.

Although Homer's work of the 1870s gained

strength, the artist continued to paint his genre subjects:

25 tourist scenes, schoolchildren, and farm life. It wasn't

until 1881, however, that he found the subject matter

that would inspire him most. In that year, for reasons

unknown, Homer went to England, where he elected to

spend the summer at the town of Tynemouth on the

30 coast of the North Sea. It is possible that he was search-

ing for a town filled with the type of tourists and

bathers that made his paintings of the Jersey shore suc-

cessful back home. But Tynemouth was also a commu-

nity of fishermen who wrested their livelihood from the

35 dangerous and unpredictable waters of the North Sea.

Moreover, the light and weather in that part of the

world, so much farther north than Atlantic City, is

much gloomier and more dramatic than that of the

Jersey coast. It was there that Homer became enthralled

40 by the dramas of the people who make their living from

the ocean: the fishermen's wives staring out to sea as

they wait for their men, the launch of the lifeboat to

rescue sailors from a foundering ship, the agonizingly

fragile fishing boats being tossed on angry waves. Here

45 at last was a subject matter that matched the artist's

deepest feelings. The dynamic and dangerous relation-

ship between human activity and natural forces exposed

in this setting would occupy Homer for many years to

come. On his return to America he elected to leave New

50 York and relocate to the rural town of Prouts Neck,

Maine.

The legend of Winslow Homer is that he left New

York civilization to become a recluse on the coast of

Maine for the last 25 years of his life. In reality, the

55 property at Prouts Neck--which included a large, ram-

bling hotel building--was purchased by his brother

Charles for the whole extended Homer family. The

artist also built a studio with an ocean view just yards

away from the family house so throughout the summers

60 he could enjoy the company of his father, his brothers

and their wives, as well as the year-round guests of the

many local people whose friendship he valued. Homer

continued to travel frequently, spending parts of the

winter in the Caribbean. But the artist always lived

65 alone, and when he was working, which was the large

part of most of his days, he could be extremely short-

tempered when interrupted.

The sea outside his window now inspired the artist

to create what came to be known as his greatest paint-

70 ings. The maine coast is extremely rocky and prone to

monstrous gales that--at their most powerful--can

whip up the waves to 40 or 50 feet. Screaming winds

can rip across the breakers, creating long horizontal

trails of spray. Homer rendered this sea with all the

75 understanding of a painter who knows to simplify and

synthesize. In paintings such as Eastern Point and

Cannon Rock the construction of the water has been

reorganized into clear graphic shapes and strong direc-

tional lines that echo the Japanese printmaking that had

80 such a lasting effect on his work. The rocks in the

paintings are massed into powerful, almost flat, designs

and the brushing has become energetic, as though feed-

ing from the physical strength of the ocean. These

paintings take on an abstract grandeur that has justly

85 made them famous. They remain, however, haunting

evocations of the eternal power of the ocean.

Question 28

The main idea of the last paragraph is that:

• Homer's paintings of the Maine coast exhibit the culmination of his artistic skills.

• Homer's paintings of the sea evoke the grandeur of the human spirit in the natural world.

• the most effective way to depict water in a painting is to use graphic shapes and directional lines.

• viewing two of Homer's famous paintings of the sea had a lasting effect on the author.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Passage III

Humanities: This passage is adapted from the article "Winslow Homer: His Melancholy Truth" by John A. Parks (@2006 by VNU Business Media).

The images in the paintings of Winslow Homer

epitomize a peculiarly American 19th-century world.

Through Homer's eyes, it is a world in which people

live in close contact with nature and natural forces, a

5 world where landscape and ocean are viewed not as a

paradise but as powers and presences that can be

enjoyed and whose threats can sometimes be overcome.

And, particularly in his later paintings, it is a world

imbued with a stark and melancholy atmosphere.

10 In 1867, two of Homer's canvases were chosen to

hang at the Great Exposition in Paris. The artist spent

10 months in the city, which later proved to have a pro-

found effect on his art. A large display of Japanese

prints was exhibited in the same building as his own

15 paintings, and the process of simplification that it

revealed and the wealth of pictorial invention it pro-

vided made a deep impression on the artist. The influ-

ence of Japanese art on Homer's painting was

immediately apparent upon his return to the United

20 States. The weakness of earlier compositions is

replaced by a boldness and lucidity in which simple

shapes are massed into powerful designs.

Although Homer's work of the 1870s gained

strength, the artist continued to paint his genre subjects:

25 tourist scenes, schoolchildren, and farm life. It wasn't

until 1881, however, that he found the subject matter

that would inspire him most. In that year, for reasons

unknown, Homer went to England, where he elected to

spend the summer at the town of Tynemouth on the

30 coast of the North Sea. It is possible that he was search-

ing for a town filled with the type of tourists and

bathers that made his paintings of the Jersey shore suc-

cessful back home. But Tynemouth was also a commu-

nity of fishermen who wrested their livelihood from the

35 dangerous and unpredictable waters of the North Sea.

Moreover, the light and weather in that part of the

world, so much farther north than Atlantic City, is

much gloomier and more dramatic than that of the

Jersey coast. It was there that Homer became enthralled

40 by the dramas of the people who make their living from

the ocean: the fishermen's wives staring out to sea as

they wait for their men, the launch of the lifeboat to

rescue sailors from a foundering ship, the agonizingly

fragile fishing boats being tossed on angry waves. Here

45 at last was a subject matter that matched the artist's

deepest feelings. The dynamic and dangerous relation-

ship between human activity and natural forces exposed

in this setting would occupy Homer for many years to

come. On his return to America he elected to leave New

50 York and relocate to the rural town of Prouts Neck,

Maine.

The legend of Winslow Homer is that he left New

York civilization to become a recluse on the coast of

Maine for the last 25 years of his life. In reality, the

55 property at Prouts Neck--which included a large, ram-

bling hotel building--was purchased by his brother

Charles for the whole extended Homer family. The

artist also built a studio with an ocean view just yards

away from the family house so throughout the summers

60 he could enjoy the company of his father, his brothers

and their wives, as well as the year-round guests of the

many local people whose friendship he valued. Homer

continued to travel frequently, spending parts of the

winter in the Caribbean. But the artist always lived

65 alone, and when he was working, which was the large

part of most of his days, he could be extremely short-

tempered when interrupted.

The sea outside his window now inspired the artist

to create what came to be known as his greatest paint-

70 ings. The maine coast is extremely rocky and prone to

monstrous gales that--at their most powerful--can

whip up the waves to 40 or 50 feet. Screaming winds

can rip across the breakers, creating long horizontal

trails of spray. Homer rendered this sea with all the

75 understanding of a painter who knows to simplify and

synthesize. In paintings such as Eastern Point and

Cannon Rock the construction of the water has been

reorganized into clear graphic shapes and strong direc-

tional lines that echo the Japanese printmaking that had

80 such a lasting effect on his work. The rocks in the

paintings are massed into powerful, almost flat, designs

and the brushing has become energetic, as though feed-

ing from the physical strength of the ocean. These

paintings take on an abstract grandeur that has justly

85 made them famous. They remain, however, haunting

evocations of the eternal power of the ocean.

Question 29

The author speculates that Homer may have chosen to go to Tynemouth because he:

• wanted to return to the place that had originally inspired him to be a painter.

• expected to be able to work better without the distractions he struggled with in Paris.

• needed a break from the overcrowded Jersey coast.

• hoped to find the kinds of subjects he had depicted in some of his earlier popular paintings.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

CCSS.RI.11-12.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

Passage III

Humanities: This passage is adapted from the article "Winslow Homer: His Melancholy Truth" by John A. Parks (@2006 by VNU Business Media).

The images in the paintings of Winslow Homer

epitomize a peculiarly American 19th-century world.

Through Homer's eyes, it is a world in which people

live in close contact with nature and natural forces, a

5 world where landscape and ocean are viewed not as a

paradise but as powers and presences that can be

enjoyed and whose threats can sometimes be overcome.

And, particularly in his later paintings, it is a world

imbued with a stark and melancholy atmosphere.

10 In 1867, two of Homer's canvases were chosen to

hang at the Great Exposition in Paris. The artist spent

10 months in the city, which later proved to have a pro-

found effect on his art. A large display of Japanese

prints was exhibited in the same building as his own

15 paintings, and the process of simplification that it

revealed and the wealth of pictorial invention it pro-

vided made a deep impression on the artist. The influ-

ence of Japanese art on Homer's painting was

immediately apparent upon his return to the United

20 States. The weakness of earlier compositions is

replaced by a boldness and lucidity in which simple

shapes are massed into powerful designs.

Although Homer's work of the 1870s gained

strength, the artist continued to paint his genre subjects:

25 tourist scenes, schoolchildren, and farm life. It wasn't

until 1881, however, that he found the subject matter

that would inspire him most. In that year, for reasons

unknown, Homer went to England, where he elected to

spend the summer at the town of Tynemouth on the

30 coast of the North Sea. It is possible that he was search-

ing for a town filled with the type of tourists and

bathers that made his paintings of the Jersey shore suc-

cessful back home. But Tynemouth was also a commu-

nity of fishermen who wrested their livelihood from the

35 dangerous and unpredictable waters of the North Sea.

Moreover, the light and weather in that part of the

world, so much farther north than Atlantic City, is

much gloomier and more dramatic than that of the

Jersey coast. It was there that Homer became enthralled

40 by the dramas of the people who make their living from

the ocean: the fishermen's wives staring out to sea as

they wait for their men, the launch of the lifeboat to

rescue sailors from a foundering ship, the agonizingly

fragile fishing boats being tossed on angry waves. Here

45 at last was a subject matter that matched the artist's

deepest feelings. The dynamic and dangerous relation-

ship between human activity and natural forces exposed

in this setting would occupy Homer for many years to

come. On his return to America he elected to leave New

50 York and relocate to the rural town of Prouts Neck,

Maine.

The legend of Winslow Homer is that he left New

York civilization to become a recluse on the coast of

Maine for the last 25 years of his life. In reality, the

55 property at Prouts Neck--which included a large, ram-

bling hotel building--was purchased by his brother

Charles for the whole extended Homer family. The

artist also built a studio with an ocean view just yards

away from the family house so throughout the summers

60 he could enjoy the company of his father, his brothers

and their wives, as well as the year-round guests of the

many local people whose friendship he valued. Homer

continued to travel frequently, spending parts of the

winter in the Caribbean. But the artist always lived

65 alone, and when he was working, which was the large

part of most of his days, he could be extremely short-

tempered when interrupted.

The sea outside his window now inspired the artist

to create what came to be known as his greatest paint-

70 ings. The maine coast is extremely rocky and prone to

monstrous gales that--at their most powerful--can

whip up the waves to 40 or 50 feet. Screaming winds

can rip across the breakers, creating long horizontal

trails of spray. Homer rendered this sea with all the

75 understanding of a painter who knows to simplify and

synthesize. In paintings such as Eastern Point and

Cannon Rock the construction of the water has been

reorganized into clear graphic shapes and strong direc-

tional lines that echo the Japanese printmaking that had

80 such a lasting effect on his work. The rocks in the

paintings are massed into powerful, almost flat, designs

and the brushing has become energetic, as though feed-

ing from the physical strength of the ocean. These

paintings take on an abstract grandeur that has justly

85 made them famous. They remain, however, haunting

evocations of the eternal power of the ocean.

Question 30

The passage states that in Prouts Neck, Homer could be irritable when:

• his paintings weren't selling well.

• storms prevented him from painting outdoors.

• the sea was too rough to go boating.

• he was interrupted while painting.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.8.2