[Homer's] reticence would seem to pose a challenge for the biographer, but in William R. Cross’s new—and certain to be definitive—life of the artist, the gaps in the painter’s private history are filled in by detailed accounts of people he knew and places he visited.

Cross’s scrupulous new book is devoted to Homer as both man and artist and is largely a pleasure to read, despite the inevitable difficulties of the subject: call him repressed; call him, as Cross does, 'a misfit by nature' or even a 'human periscope,' who liked to observe others without being seen. Cross tries to circumvent these difficulties by placing the life in a wider context, particularly in Homer’s early years.

Cross’s book...is a hefty, traditional 'life of.' Not particularly interested in investigating systemic power and privilege, Cross draws out aspects of life that may have figured more consciously in Homer’s own mind, acknowledging without contempt, for instance, Homer’s pragmatic approach to business.

William R. Cross...demonstrates that Homer emerged as a storyteller of enormous power and subtlety in a period — the 1860s — when America was casting around for the right story to tell about itself.

This low-key radical was overdue for a thorough, historically anchored reconsideration, which Cross provides with skill, insight, and precision.

Vivid storytelling melds with exuberant analysis in this sweeping look at a canonical American artist’s vibrant life.

A rich biography of the towering artist who captured the realities of 19th-century America.