his mother, henrietta benson homer, was a watercolorist whose flower pictures were occasionally shown in professional exhibitions. winslow was born in boston in 1836. at t age of 21, after two years of drudgery apprenticed to a commercial lithographer, he vowed he would never have another master and set up his studio at 22 winter street, in a building with publisher m.m. ballou. true to his new england background, homer was forthright and self-reliant. above all, he valued his independence, soon establishing himself as a free-lance illustrator for ballou's pictorial. homer's first important illustration was published in 1857, and within a year, his work began to appear in harper's weekly. his early pictures recorded the ordinary manners and pleasures of american life, reflecting a mood of national self-confidence prior to the civil war. his sketch of the skating pond in central park was published by harper's in january 1860, shortly after homer had moved to new york city. in new york, homer took a few lessons in painting from frederic rondel. rondel was a rather sentimental landscape

his mother, henrietta benson homer, was a watercolorist whose flower pictures were occasionally shown in professional exhibitions. winslow was born in boston in 1836. at the age of 21, after two years of drudgery apprenticeto a commercial lithographer, he vowed he would never have another master and set up his studio at 22 winter street, in a building with publisher m.m. ballou. true to his new england background, homer was forthright and self-reliant. above all, he valued his independence, soon establishing himself as a free-lance illustrator for ballou's pictorial. homer's first important illustration was published in 1857, and within a year, his work began to appear in harper's weekly. his early pictures recorded the ordinary manners and pleasures of american life, reflecting a mood of national self-confidence prior to the civil war. his sketch of the skating pond in central park was published by harper's in january 1860, shortly after homer had moved to new york city. in new york, homer took a few lessons in painting from frederic rondel. rondel was a rather sentimental landscape