Coast in Winter, 1892 (oil on canvas)

In this classic winter seascape at Prout's Neck, Maine, the artist's place of residence after 1883, human presence is implied by the footsteps in the snow at the bottom left corner of the painting. A short brushstroke on top of the hill represents ambiguously either a human figure or a barren tree. In a characteristic effort to integrate the parts of a painting, the curling lines of the low-lying brush in the foreground are echoed by a similar web of calligraphic strokes along the foamy edge of the large wave. Homer balances the weight of this swell with the rocky coast that stretches to the sea along a diagonal course, a format that he used in several coastal scenes.