Winslow Homer (1836–1910) is widely regarded as the greatest American painter of the nineteenth century, best known for his marine subjects and his unflinching depiction of humanity's contest with nature. Largely self-taught, he began his career as a commercial illustrator for Harper's Weekly and covered the Civil War front before turning fully to painting in oils and watercolor, developing a direct and energetic style unlike anything coming out of Europe at the time. In 1883 he moved permanently to Prouts Neck, Maine, where his late seascapes — churning surf, raw coastal light, the weight and physics of deep water — became some of the most powerful paintings ever made in America. His admonition to fellow artists was characteristically terse: "Look at nature, work independently, and solve your own problems."