Children under a Palm

Children under a Palm Tree is a watercolour painting by Winslow Homer from 1885. The artwork rose to prominence after an appearance on BBC TV, in which its attribution was tested in considerable detail.

The painting itself features three figures sat within an exotic looking location. A potted plant sits behind them, and is perhaps a breed of palm. They are dressed in stunning outfits which is perhaps the most memorable element of this painting. Their faces are light, without much detail, which is perhaps due to the medium used in this piece. Homer used both oils and watercolours across his career, having originally started off as a commercial illustrator. He would quickly learn that both painting methods had their benefits and drawbacks, and that actually they were quite different mediums which both needed to be learnt over time in their own unique ways. As a lover of landscape and seascape art, in was perhaps inevitable that Homer would try his hand at watercolours eventually, but it was his work in oils which tended to bring him the most success, artistically and financially. Watercolours were popular within France and the UK and although Homer tried to distance himself from European influences, he must have come into contact with this medium whilst travelling across that continent.

What might confuse those who initially see this artwork is that it is an item based in the Bahamas, but with outfits whose style is more akin to Arabian culture. The reason for this was that Sir Henry Blake's children, who sat for this piece, were actually living in the Bahamas at the time but on this occasion were celebrating at a fancy dress party. In order to decipher this mystery, it would take quite a large amount of research which probably would never have been completed were it not for this painting's appearance on a television show known as Fake or Fortune. The essence of the show is to determine an item's authenticity and, ultimately, its value to the owner. No doubt, at the start of the episode it would have been questioned whether or not this was a newly-discovered Homer painting, before later confirming that as new evidence was uncovered. Sadly, very artworks will receive this level of attention and so many secrets of the art world will remain uncovered, other than for artists who keep particularly comprehensive details across their careers.

Interestingly, the artwork was initially marked as that of the children's mother, who was a skilled artist herself. It was only later that the family's desire to learn more about the piece led it to being uncovered as actually from Homer's oeuvre. This, naturally, raised its value considerably, although it is unlikely that this was the motive behind the original investigation. Homer himself travelled to the Caribbean several times and became familiar with its different populations over time, depicting them across a selection of artworks. It is helped to encourage his focus on seascapes, and brought new environments to his work after he had normally focused on other US regions up to that point. Homer was a skilled master of figurative art which is sometimes forgotten by those who focus on other genres within his career.