Skip Navigation

Flirting on the Sea-Shore and on the Meadow

Winslow Homer

American Art

Homer’s double register of witty illustrations needed no text to remind the reader that another popular summer recreation was the game of playing at courtship known as flirting. His images offer a set of variations on the theme, contrasting the beach and countryside; moonlight and high noon; and the worlds of adults and children. The dark pyramid formed by the couple near the waves reinforces a sense of assignation and erotic mystery. Broad daylight, in contrast, illuminates the encounter of two prone farm boys rapt in their mutual admiration of the little girl who sits before them. The humor of children playing at such courtship is suggested by the family of ducks who march into the left foreground; a visual pun on the ultimate outcome of such courting rituals.

MEDIUM Wood engraving
DATES 1874
DIMENSIONS Image: 9 1/4 x 13 5/8 in. (23.5 x 34.6 cm) Sheet: 11 x 16 1/4 in. (27.9 x 41.3 cm) Frame: 16 3/4 x 22 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (42.5 x 57.8 x 3.8 cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS American Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 1998.105.194
CREDIT LINE Gift of Harvey Isbitts
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910). Flirting on the Sea-Shore and on the Meadow, 1874. Wood engraving, Image: 9 1/4 x 13 5/8 in. (23.5 x 34.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Harvey Isbitts, 1998.105.194 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1998.105.194_bw.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 1998.105.194_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions
This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910). <em>Flirting on the Sea-Shore and on the Meadow</em>, 1874. Wood engraving, Image: 9 1/4 x 13 5/8 in. (23.5 x 34.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Harvey Isbitts, 1998.105.194 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1998.105.194_bw.jpg)