Lobsterman (Walt Anderson) [recto]; Two Figures in a Dory [verso]

This important early watercolor painted by Andrew Wyeth in 1937 was created during Wyeth’s stay at the family’s summer home, "Eight Bells," in Port Clyde, Maine. The artist’s work demonstrates fluid, expressive handling of the brush and exuberant use of color, and reveals his admiration of Winslow Homer’s (1836-1910) celebrated paintings of the New England coast.

Lobsterman depicts Wyeth’s close friend from Maine, Walt Anderson, standing on shore adjusting his traps. The artist also painted another watercolor (Two Figures in a Dory) on the back of this work featuring a haunting image of fishermen rowing through the fog off a rocky shore.