Nassau

Winslow Homer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this dazzling watercolor of Bahamian men either heading out to or returning from their work at sea, Homer included discarded cannons—artifacts from one of the island’s British forts—splayed across the beach. One contemporary guidebook noted that these symbols of colonial history had become tourist attractions. Homer’s interest in this imperial legacy corresponds to the increasing U.S. presence in the region and on the world stage. At lower left, the artist indicated that the watercolor was painted on January 1, 1899, a significant date. Under the provisions of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which established the end of the Spanish-Cuban-American war, January　1 marked the day Spain relinquished control of Cuba and the United States began its military occupation of the island.

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