Winslow Homer | The Life Line, 1884

The Life Line is a late 19th-century painting by American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910).

Done in oil on canvas, the painting depicts the rescue of a passenger from a stricken ship.

The work - one of Homer's most iconic - is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

From: Philadelphia Museum of Art

---

The dramatic rescue from a foundering ship shown here was made possible by a recent innovation in lifesaving technology, the breeches buoy.

Secured firmly to ship and shore, the device permitted the transfer of stranded passengers to safety by means of a pulley that was hauled back and forth by crews at either end.

Claude Monet | The Zuiderkerk, Amsterdam, 1874

"The Zuiderkerk, Amsterdam (Looking up the Groenburgwal)" was created in 1874 by French painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) in Impressionism style.

The painting is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania.

Title: The Zuiderkerk, Amsterdam (Looking up the Groenburgwal)

Author: Claude Monet - French Impressionist painter (1840-1926);

Geography: Probably made in Netherlands, Europe;

Mary Cassatt | Woman with a Pearl Necklace in a Loge, 1879

Woman with a Pearl Necklace in a Loge (or Lydia in a Loge) is an 1879 painting by American artist Mary Cassatt.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art acquired the painting in 1978 from the bequest of Charlotte Dorrance Wright.

The style in which it was painted and the depiction of shifting light and color was influenced by Impressionism.

This painting shows a view of the modern woman and is similar in style to Degas.

Jean-François Millet | Bird's Nesters, 1874

Known for his realistic portrayals of French peasants, Millet produced this painting at the very end of his life.

He based the scene on stories from his childhood that told of great flights of wild pigeons.

When the birds settled in trees at night, the peasants blinded them with light from torches and then clubbed hundreds to death.