Winslow Homer and the Camera by Frank Goodyear and Dana Byrd looks at the role that photography played in Homer’s art.

This interesting and illuminating exploration of the influence of photography on Winslow Homer’s art comprises two essays, the first looking at that influence and the second chronicling how Homer portrayed the Bahamas, Cuba and Florida whilst holidaying there. Excellent illustrations throughout enhance the text and I found the book an intelligent and well-argued examination of the impact of photography on his painting. Clearly and accessibly written, it’s nevertheless a book for those already acquainted with Homer’s work, but it’s certainly not a book just for the academic or scholar, and I took a lot from it.

Winslow Homer and the Camera offers wonderful insight into both Homer's work and the influence of photography on artists of the period.

While a familiarity with Homer's work would certainly have made the book even more interesting for me the discussions along with the accompanying pictures made everything quite understandable. Which is important since art and art history is not one of my strongest areas. So if you have an interest but don't have much in the way of credentials in this area this book will still be accessible and informative. I also think that for those well-versed in the topic the essays will speak to you even more since a certain foundation will allow you to grasp and make connections that likely elude me.

Overall I would recommend this to anyone with a casual interest in art through to an artist or art historian with a solid background. There is plenty to engage any reader along that spectrum.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

This book is basically two essays about Winslow Homer. The first was by Frank Goodyear, who looked at Homer's entire career with a focus on what influenced his artwork and especially at how photography influenced his art. The second essay was by Dana Byrd, who looked at how Homer captured the Bahamas, Cuba, and Florida in his art during his vacations in 1884-1886. She compared and contrasted his art with others who were painting or photographing these areas at that time. There were pages of pictures along with each essay showing the photographs and artwork that were mentioned in the essays.

The essays were informative and will probably be of most interest to fans of Homer's artwork. I was curious about how photography influenced American artwork at that time, and now I know as much as I care to. However, the authors assumed a previous knowledge of Homer's overall body of artwork, which I didn't have. While I could follow the specific references since pictures were provided, I couldn't fully appreciate their comments about his work in general.