One of the great things about having a world-renowned museum like the Fort Wayne Museum of Art right in our backyard is that we often get chances to view important pieces that other museums might not get a chance to put on exhibit.

One such exhibition is the Winslow Homer collection, currently on display. Known mostly for his paintings of marine subjects, Homer was once called “America’s first great post-God painter” by The New York Times. This collection, created in the years before the Civil War and the following decade, features Homer’s wood engravings and is one of the most comprehensive collections of Homer’s work ever to tour America, with some pieces having never before been exhibited.

Organized into 13 sub-themed areas based on Homer’s subjects, they include The Bufford Workshop Apprentice Years, Early Portraits, Leisure Time Activity, Rural America, The War Years, Holidays, The Sporting Life, Courtship and Romance, Seaside Views, America’s Youth, The Changing Role of Women, Urbanization and Society, and Poetry and Literature. Winslow Homer: From Poetry To Fiction, The Engraved Works runs through September 23.