Between 1884 and 1889, Winslow Homer made a group of eight etchings based on his epic paintings of the sea. The creation of these etchings enabled Homer to revisit, redraw, and reinvent his scenes of men struggling against the forces of nature. In the case of "The Life Line" and "Eight Bells", Homer simplified and arguably strengthened his compositions, cropping the backgrounds and eliminating superfluous details so as to focus on the central protagonists, who have become larger in proportion to the overall composition. In "Eight Bells", two sailors take measurements with their sextants to determine their ship’s position. The silhouettes of their strong and heroic profiles are set against a seemingly vast expanse of sea below and sky above, both rendered in a remarkable swirl of vigorously etched lines.