Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Press Release

February 3, 1999

Wildlife Park to Hold Opening of Winslow Homer Exhibit in Visitor Center - February 26

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park invites the public to attend the opening of a permanent exhibit highlighting Winslow Homer's 1904 watercolors of the Homosassa River. Winslow Homer is considered by many to be one of America's greatest artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The artist lived from 1836 to 1910. The display of Homosassa paintings and others from his visits to the tropics will be on display in the Florida Room of the Visitor Center at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. The park's Visitor Center is located on U.S. Highway 19.

Photographs of the artist and copies of his letters to his brother about our area will also be part of the exhibit. A copy of the Guest Register page from the Homosassa Lodge shows entries and charges made by Homer during his January 1904 visit.

Homer painted eleven known watercolors during his 1904 stay of approximately a month. When not painting, Homer enjoyed the excellent fishing on the Homosassa River. One photo shows the famous artist in a boat with two local fishing guides on the Homosassa River. The exhibit will officially open to the public at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, February 26, 1999.

A native of Prout's Neck, Maine, Homer made his first trip to Florida in the winter of 1885-1886 where he enjoyed the warmer climate and fishing and painting opportunities. In the years following he made several mid-winter trips by steamer from New York to Florida. He stayed in various locales around Florida and the nearby Caribbean islands. Favorite Florida locations included Jacksonville, Enterprise on the St. John's River, Tampa and Key West. He was attracted to the picturesque Homosassa area after hearing about it from friends and fellow travelers. His first visit was in January 1904, when he traveled again by steamer from Key West up Florida's Gulf Coast to Homosassa.

Homer wrote to his brother Arthur that year describing Homosassa as, "Delightful climate here about as cool as our September - fishing the best in America as far as I can find."

A special slide program "Winslow Homer: The Artist and His Florida Watercolors," will be presented by Marian Fox of the Citrus County Art League at 2:30 p.m. Fox has three degrees from the University of Florida, B.A. in Art with high honors, M.Ed., and Ed.S. with majors in painting, art history, and art education.

Now retired, Fox was formerly Director of Visual Resources, Colleges of Fine Arts and Architecture, UF: Humanities instructor at the Pasco-Hernando Community College; and art teacher in the Alachua County schools. Her paintings, prints, photographs, and crafts are represented in numerous private collections. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Citrus County Art League.

The new park exhibit will be on permanent display in the Florida Room at the Visitor Center and is the result of two years' research and gathering of interpretive materials. There is no admission charge to see the Winslow Homer in Homosassa exhibit. For more information on the exhibit and its official opening on February 26, 1999, please call Susan Dougherty at (352) 628-5343.

Note: After the opening this will become a permanent exhibit for our visitors and the general public and there's no charge to go in and see the exhibit in the Florida Room in the Visitor Center.

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