Author Talk: Christina Michelon on Winslow Homer in Watercolor

Name: Author Talk: Christina Michelon on Winslow Homer in Watercolor
Start: 2026-03-07T14:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-03-07T15:00:00-05:00
Location: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA, United States, Pennsylvania 19130

Schedule

Sat Mar 07 2026 at 02:00 pm to 03:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA, United States, Pennsylvania 19130 | Philadelphia, PA

Learn from Christina Michelon of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston about how American artist Winslow Homer (1836–1910) transformed the medium of watercolor through his relentless spirit of experimentation. Homer's luminous views transport viewers to the rugged Maine coast, the Adirondack Mountains, seaside England, sun-drenched Caribbean waters, and beyond. The MFA houses the largest collection of Homer’s watercolors in the world, though the works’ fragility and sensitivity to light mean they have not been displayed together in nearly half a century. These works were featured in the MFA’s exhibition, Of Light and Air: Winslow Homer in Watercolor (November 2, 2025–January 19, 2026). The exhibition was accompanied by the publication Winslow Homer in Watercolor (MFA Publications, 2025), which features contributions from exhibition co-curator Michelon and conservator Annette Manick. This Author Talk illuminates Homer’s innovative techniques and considers the various environments—ecological, artistic, social, and economic—that shaped his enduring work in watercolor.
Things to Know:
- Copies of Winslow Homer in Watercolor will be available for purchase and signing by Michelon, following the talk.
- Seating is first come, first served.
- There will be time for a Q&A at the end of the program.
About the Speaker:
Christina Michelon is the Pamela and Peter Voss Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She specializes in the visual and material culture of the United States and received her PhD in art history from the University of Minnesota. Her work has been supported by the Smithsonian Institution, Winterthur Museum & Library, Henry Luce Foundation, American Council of Learned Societies, Rare Book School’s Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography, and others.
She was also recently elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society, where she was previously a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow in residence. Her writing has appeared in the journals Common-place, J19, New England Quarterly, Panorama, and American Art, for which she received the Frost Essay Award from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Christina was previously curator of special collections at the Boston Athenaeum, where she led the recent permanent collection reinstallation and several special exhibitions, including Allan Rohan Crite: Griot of Boston (a collaboration between the Boston Athenaeum and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum), which was accompanied by the catalogue Allan Rohan Crite: Neighborhood Liturgy, co-edited with Gardner Museum curator Diana Greenwald and distributed by Princeton University Press. Most recently for the MFA, Christina co-curated Of Light and Air: Winslow Homer in Watercolor, with Ethan Lasser (Chair, Art of the Americas).
Questions or accommodation requests? Email [email protected].