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Homer learned the fundamentals of draftsmanship at the age of eighteen as an apprentice to the Boston lithographer John H. Bufford. Two years later, in 1857, he established himself as a freelance illustrator, creating original engraving compositions for Ballou’s Pictorial Drawing Room Companion and Harper’s Weekly. Homer’s role in the production of the prints was to draw the image on a block of boxwood. Engravers then carved away everything but the lines drawn on the block, using crosshatching to convey shade and modeling. Finally, the engravers inked the block to produce the print. [1]
Even at such a young age, with little formal art instruction, Homer displayed his skill at composition, creating dynamic and well-balanced images that foreshadow his later masterpieces in oil and watercolor. He even experimented with composite images, in which multiple vignettes are combined to create a rich and full narrative.
Homer often chose fashionable people engaged in modern leisure activities as the subjects for his Ballou’s and Harper’s engravings. In May-Day in the Country, published in Harper’s Weekly on April 30, 1859, Homer shows stylish young people of both sexes enjoying a ride in the country. In the background, a couple gallops away at a quick pace, while the party in the foreground has paused to rest by a picturesque fence. As was true of many of Homer’s early works, women take center stage in this image. One young woman accepts the gift of a small bouquet from a group of country children who have been gathering flowers. Over their heads, arching branches form a graceful canopy. Thematically, this print is related to another print by Homer in the collection of Reynolda House, August in the Country—The Seashore.
Horseback riding was recommended in the contemporary press as beneficial exercise. In the Ladies’ Wreath, a Magazine Devoted to Literature, Industry, and Religion, a writer in 1846 opined: “The exercise of riding on horseback is so healthful, so invigorating, and affords so admirable an opportunity for the exhibition of skill and grace, that we have always been surprised at the small number of fair equestrians, compared with the multitudes who prefer to it the luxurious but indolent motion of a carriage. One thing is certain—a young lady who sits well and manages her horse skillfully, never looks better than on horseback, even with the present style of dress.” [2]
Notes:
[1] David Tatham, Winslow Homer and the Pictorial Press (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003), 14.
[2] “A Chapter on Equestrianism,” in Ladies’ Wreath, a Magazine Devoted to Literature, Industry, and Religion (September 1, 1846), 147.
ProvenanceJoseph R. and Mary Myers, Tyro, NC [1]
Notes:
[1] Loan Agreement, object file.
Exhibition History2010
Virtue, Vice, Wisdom & Folly: The Moralizing Tradition in American Art
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (9/18/2010-12/31/2010)
Published ReferencesGellman, Barbara, ed. The Wood Engravings of Winslow Homer. New York: Bounty Books, 1969: 31, 199.
DepartmentAmerican Art
May Day in the Country
Artist
Winslow Homer
(1836 - 1910)
Date1859
Mediumwood engraving
DimensionsFrame: 18 1/2 x 22 7/16 in. (47 x 57 cm)
Paper: 11 1/8 x 17 1/8 in. (28.3 x 43.5 cm)
Image: 9 1/8 x 13 3/4 in. (23.2 x 34.9 cm)
Signed<unsigned>
Credit LineCourtesy of Joseph and Mary Myers in honor of Nicholas B. Bragg
CopyrightPublic Domain
Object number2000.2.1.a
DescriptionWinslow Homer is revered today both for the powerful and dramatic images he created as well as for his enormous technical skill in watercolor and oil. But it was another medium, engraving, in which the artist first revealed his talents.Homer learned the fundamentals of draftsmanship at the age of eighteen as an apprentice to the Boston lithographer John H. Bufford. Two years later, in 1857, he established himself as a freelance illustrator, creating original engraving compositions for Ballou’s Pictorial Drawing Room Companion and Harper’s Weekly. Homer’s role in the production of the prints was to draw the image on a block of boxwood. Engravers then carved away everything but the lines drawn on the block, using crosshatching to convey shade and modeling. Finally, the engravers inked the block to produce the print. [1]
Even at such a young age, with little formal art instruction, Homer displayed his skill at composition, creating dynamic and well-balanced images that foreshadow his later masterpieces in oil and watercolor. He even experimented with composite images, in which multiple vignettes are combined to create a rich and full narrative.
Homer often chose fashionable people engaged in modern leisure activities as the subjects for his Ballou’s and Harper’s engravings. In May-Day in the Country, published in Harper’s Weekly on April 30, 1859, Homer shows stylish young people of both sexes enjoying a ride in the country. In the background, a couple gallops away at a quick pace, while the party in the foreground has paused to rest by a picturesque fence. As was true of many of Homer’s early works, women take center stage in this image. One young woman accepts the gift of a small bouquet from a group of country children who have been gathering flowers. Over their heads, arching branches form a graceful canopy. Thematically, this print is related to another print by Homer in the collection of Reynolda House, August in the Country—The Seashore.
Horseback riding was recommended in the contemporary press as beneficial exercise. In the Ladies’ Wreath, a Magazine Devoted to Literature, Industry, and Religion, a writer in 1846 opined: “The exercise of riding on horseback is so healthful, so invigorating, and affords so admirable an opportunity for the exhibition of skill and grace, that we have always been surprised at the small number of fair equestrians, compared with the multitudes who prefer to it the luxurious but indolent motion of a carriage. One thing is certain—a young lady who sits well and manages her horse skillfully, never looks better than on horseback, even with the present style of dress.” [2]
Notes:
[1] David Tatham, Winslow Homer and the Pictorial Press (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003), 14.
[2] “A Chapter on Equestrianism,” in Ladies’ Wreath, a Magazine Devoted to Literature, Industry, and Religion (September 1, 1846), 147.
ProvenanceJoseph R. and Mary Myers, Tyro, NC [1]
Notes:
[1] Loan Agreement, object file.
Exhibition History2010
Virtue, Vice, Wisdom & Folly: The Moralizing Tradition in American Art
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (9/18/2010-12/31/2010)
Published ReferencesGellman, Barbara, ed. The Wood Engravings of Winslow Homer. New York: Bounty Books, 1969: 31, 199.
Status
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