By Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter
Dallas, TX – Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter: With Winslow Homer's 53 fishing-expedition watercolors hanging in two Amon Carter galleries, the museum's Curator of Painting and Sculpture says these rooms stop being large, sterile spaces. For Patty Junker, these paintings transport her.
Patricia Junker, Curator of Painting and Sculpture, Amon Carter Museum: I like to say in the Adirondacks pictures you can hear the mosquitoes; in the Quebec paintings you can hear the water's roar, and in the Florida paintings you can hear the sounds of birds.
Zeeble: Junker knew of Homer's renowned fly-fishing scenes in the Adirondack Mountains, along wild, remote rivers and large lakes in Quebec, and in semi-tropical northern Florida. But the power and impact of these paintings grew after she went fly fishing for the first time, a few years ago.
Junker: As soon as I started to fish, I had all the moments represented in these pictures, and I knew instantly what they were about. And I knew fairly quickly after I'd started fishing that there was a major story here.
Zeeble: Fort Worth certified fly fishing instructor Colby "Pops" Sorrells says each painting often tells its own tale. He stands in front of a striking lake scene called "Sunrise, Fishing in the Adirondacks, 1889." It shows a lone fly fisherman in his boat on still water, dark forest behind him, against a red-streaked sky.
Colby "Pops" Sorrells, Main Street Outfitters, Certified Fly Fishing Instructor: Almost all fisherman understand the saying "red sky in morning, sailor take warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight." This means we've got a storm approaching quickly and this gentleman's fishing day's going to be over before too long, 'cause he's going to be right in the middle of a storm. And the calmness on the water is going to go away very quickly.
Zeeble: Sorrells turns to another picture, "Channel Bass, Florida, 1904." It tells a different, though all too typical of fisherman's tale, where the angler spreads his hands apart and says, "I caught it, and it was huge!"
Sorrells: I think this is probably the biggest fish he ever caught. He was not a real braggadocious person. But I think this was his trophy fish. One thing, notice it has glass bottles in the water, one floating up near the surface, and some down on the bottom to give us a perspective of size. Just based off of that, this is a large fish; this is a 30-plus inch fish. This was his once-in-a-lifetime big fish he had. And he wanted to recognize that, as any angler would want to do also.
Zeeble: Junker might also brag about this entire watercolor show that brings together works from 19 museums and 16 private collections. Instead she praises the quality and rarity of Homer's work.
Junker: He found watercolor to be the perfect medium for the subject matter. Moving water, the elegant cast of a fly line that's almost imperceptible, which he couldn't do in oil. He tried. It lacks fluidity. The sense of movement and dynamism is something I think that really required watercolor.
Zeeble: And now's the chance to see them, says Junker, because these relatively small, 14-by-20 inch watercolors - so fragile in light - will go back into dark storage when returned to their owners.
Junker: And if you miss it, you really will never have the chance again to see them.
Zeeble: The exhibition, "Winslow Homer; Artist and Angler," remains at Fort Worth's Amon Carter Museum through June 22nd. For KERA 90.1, I'm Bill Zeeble.
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