The Flirt

The Flirt, an 1874 oil on wood panel by Winslow Homer, entered the Valentine family in the late 19th century. It remained in the possession of Lawson Valentine (1827-1891) and his wife Lucy Houghton Valentine (1830-1911), passing by inheritance to their daughter Almira Houghton Valentine Pulsifer (1854-1919). The work subsequently descended to Almira's son Harold Trowbridge Pulsifer (1886-1948), then to his wife Susan Farley Nichols Pulsifer (1892-1987), and finally to their niece Alice Pulsifer Doyle (1916-1996).

After Alice's death the piece was held by her charitable remainder annuity trust, which sold it to Paul Mellon in March 1989; Mellon bequeathed it to the National Gallery of Art in 1999.

The Flirt (1874), an oil on wood panel by Winslow Homer, belongs to the artist's early marine subjects. Its provenance, traced from the Valentine family through several generations of the Pulsifer family to the National Gallery of Art, underscores its place within Homer's oeuvre. The work has been noted for its technical handling and its treatment of 19th-century American maritime themes, depicting a small boat under a wind-driven sail.

Its inclusion in the Gallery's collection reflects recognition of the painting's merit and its role in the narrative of American realist painting.

The Flirt (1874), an oil on wood painting by Winslow Homer depicting a boat against a wind-driven scene, entered the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., through the 1999 bequest of Paul Mellon, who had acquired it in 1989 from the Alice P. Doyle Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust; the trust had inherited the work from the Pulsifer family, whose lineage traced back to the artist's early collectors. Its placement in a premier public collection underscores scholarly and curatorial recognition of the painting as a representative example of Homer's late 19th-century oeuvre.

Winslow Homer's The Flirt (1874) is an oil-on-wood painting that captures a fleeting, narrative moment of leisure on the water. The composition centers on a young woman seated in a small rowboat, her figure turned slightly as she looks back over her shoulder with a knowing smile. Her white dress billows dramatically in the breeze, creating dynamic diagonal lines that contrast with the calm, horizontal expanse of the water.

The work exemplifies Homer's mature style during the 1870s, a period when he increasingly focused on scenes of American life and the relationship between figures and nature. Rather than a formal portrait, the piece functions as a genre scene, relying on the ambiguity of the woman's expression and the implied presence of an unseen observer to suggest a playful interaction. The artist employs loose, energetic brushwork to render the movement of the fabric and the texture of the water, prioritizing atmospheric effect over rigid detail.

This painting reflects Homer's shift toward capturing the immediacy of modern experience and his mastery in conveying psychological nuance through gesture and setting, solidifying his reputation as a chronicler of American identity.