On the Sands

Colors in this work

Artist: Winslow Homer
Date: 1881
Medium: watercolor and gouache with pen and black ink over graphite
Dimensions: sheet: 33.7 × 47.8 cm (13 1/4 × 18 13/16 in.)
Department: CG-W
Holding institution: National Gallery of Art
Palette: Faded Gilt · Yellow family · #A89A80 · 38%

Olive Ground · Yellow family · #897D69 · 15%

Flax Ground · Yellow family · #C6B598 · 13%

Olive Ground · Yellow family · #756C59 · 12%

Kiln Ash · Gray family · #5F5746 · 9%

Aged Vellum · Yellow family · #DDCBB0 · 7%

Etching Plate Gray · Gray family · #413D32 · 4%

Kiln Ash · Gray family · #546766 · 1%

Etching Plate Gray · Gray family · #324041 · <1%

Etching Plate Gray · Gray family · #2D3338 · <1%

Granite Face · Gray family · #737B70 · <1%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #B28B76 · <1%

Burnt Sienna Wall · Orange family · #A0542F · <1%

Etching Plate Gray · Gray family · #433534 · <1%

Hammered Copper Brown · Brown family · #73504B · <1%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #E7C1AC · <1%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #B3815B · <1%

Pewter Vessel · Gray family · #8F8D89 · <1%

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Image provider: national-gallery-of-art
License: CC0-1.0
Credit: Bequest of Julia B. Engel

11 tags

Landscapes and Waterscapes Visual · 98%

The image depicts an open shoreline with shallow reflective water or wet sand extending toward a low horizon.
Figures in Nature Visual · 95%

Several human figures are shown within the open coastal environment, near the boat and along the receding shore.
Modes of Transportation Visual · 95%

A large boat occupies the left foreground, with additional boat-like forms visible farther across the shoreline.
Water Visual · 97%

Shallow water or a reflective shoreline surface is visibly present across the lower portion of the composition.
Atmospheric Landscapes Visual · 95%

The sky, horizon, distant figures, and shoreline are rendered with diffuse transitions and softened contours, producing an atmospheric landscape effect.
Reflections Visual · 90%

Broken horizontal washes beneath the figures and boat visibly mirror or echo their forms across the shallow shoreline surface.

Earth Tones Visual · 92%

The image is dominated by subdued blue-gray, beige, brown, and ochre tones, with more saturated blue and rust-colored accents.

Watercolor Metadata · 99%

The National Gallery of Art identifies the medium as watercolor and gouache with pen and black ink over graphite.
Drawing Both · 98%

The work is cataloged as a drawing, and the image visibly presents a linear and wash-based work on a sheet rather than an oil-painted surface.
Work on Paper Metadata · 99%

The catalog describes a sheet measuring 33.7 × 47.8 cm, indicating a work on paper.

Winslow Homer. On the Sands. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.