By Dan Aceto

Staff Writer

Standing on the piazza at Winslow Homer’s former studio on Prouts Neck, it’s not hard to see how an artist might appreciate the view.

“Every time you look out, it’s just so inspiring,” said Annelise Conway, who for the last four years has led the Winslow Homer Studio renovation campaign to accurately restore the building to the era when Homer lived there from 1893 until his death in 1910.

Wednesday marked the 100-year anniversary of Homer’s death. This summer the Portland Museum of Art held a special showing, Poetics of Place, and displayed paintings from its gallery of Homer’s works, many of which had not been shown together since 1988.

The restoration campaign, which began in 2006 when the museum bought the studio from Charles Homer Willauer, Homer’s great-grandnephew, is expected to cost approximately $10.5 million and be completed in September 2012. 

The campaign relies on donations from foundations as well as individuals. In June, the museum received a $3 million unrestricted donation from Emily Eaton Moore, a trustee and longtime museum supporter. The museum announced Sept. 23 it will use $1 million of the gift for the Homer campaign. Organizers have raised $6.5 million for the campaign to date.

Kristen Levesque, director of marketing and public relations for the museum, said Homer first visited Prouts Neck in 1875 when his brother, Arthur, was honeymooning. He had the studio built in 1883 after his oldest brother, Charles, bought a significant portion of land on Prouts Neck. 

Although Homer appreciated time alone, Levesque said there is a misconception the artist was a recluse and did not venture outside his studio. 

“Homer was not a hermit,” said Levesque, “he often frequented the hotels as well as other parts of Prouts Neck and was rather well-traveled and sociable,” she said.

Homer, who lived at the studio periodically from 1883 until 1910, painted several well-known pieces during his stay, including “Weatherbeaten,” “Canon Rock,” “The Fox Hunt” and “Lost on the Grand Banks,” the latter of which Bill Gates bought in 1998 for $30 million. That purchase “easily [set] a record for American art,” according to  The New York Times. 

Levesque said although Homer was enamored with the Maine coastline, he was a “snow bird” and left each year for warmer weather when “the water in the wash basin froze over.”

One of the distinctive features of Homer’s studio is the piazza, a large deck that extends off the second floor of the house and overlooks the ocean. Levesque said Homer personally requested the piazza so he could paint while he looked out at the sea and would often hang his work over the railing to get a better view from the studio lawn. 

Although Levesque said Homer would often hang a sign outside his studio that read, “Snakes, snakes and mice” to avoid unwanted visitors from bothering him while painting, the museum plans to open the studio to the public once restoration is completed in 2012. 

The project is aimed to educate and encourage young people to appreciate the artistic heritage of the studio as well as that of Maine.

The Portland Museum of Art has a long history with Homer, dating as far back as 1893 when the artist first displayed his painting, “Signal of Distress.” In 1976, Charles Shipman Payson, a philanthropist who spent his summers in Maine, donated 17 original pieces to the museum as well as $8 million to build a separate addition to the museum to showcase the work.

The museum is also home to Homer’s nearly complete collection of illustrations – 400 pieces that highlight his years as a commercial illustrator.

Since restoration began in 2006 Homer’s Prouts Neck studio has undergone several distinct phases. One of the first projects was enhancement of the overall infrastructure and foundation of the building, including restoration of the original external supports of the piazza. Along with a new paint job, a replacement roof has also been installed. 

This year the campaign plans to remove a section of the house that contains a kitchen added in the 1950s as well as update the sprinkler, fire, electrical, heat and security detection systems.

For Conway the restoration project is as much about giving people the opportunity to learn more about Homer as it is preserving the beauty of the house and the land it rests upon from any further developments. 

“The worst thing would be losing this great view Homer had from the piazza.”

Staff Writer Dan Aceto can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237.