Flower Garden and Bungalow, Bermuda

Winslow Homer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art and fishing brought Homer to the British Crown colony of Bermuda for six weeks in winter 1899–1900. More than almost any other watercolor made during his sojourn, this image of a typical bungalow and its lush garden encodes the visual pleasures of the tropical environment. As in the Bahamas and Cuba, Homer focused on the local architecture: here, the stepped white limestone roof, used for collecting rainwater, and vibrantly colored walls. He also reveled in representing the picturesque landscape, including the border of bright flowers, verdant palms, sparkling water, and sunny sky. This work belongs to a group of watercolors of tropical subjects that the artist exhibited to acclaim at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, and later reserved for The Met, which purchased them after his death in 1910.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art