Homer painted his watercolors over a period of thirty years. Over a period of that time he lived to see the critics change from initial disparagement as raw and unfinished work to glorious praise as supreme achievements in American art.

He never had a problem parting with his oil paintings, but he knew it was the watercolors for which he would most be remembered and respected.  In fact, it was the watercolors that he voiced interest in light, spontaneity, color, and design, and experimented technically capturing new scenes and subjects.