August in the Country--The Sea-Shore, from Harper's Weekly, August 27, 1859
1859
Medium
Graphic Arts-Print
Classification
Graphic Arts-Print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Ray Austrian Collection, gift of Beatrice L. Austrian, Caryl A. Austrian and James A. Austrian
Accession Number
1996.63.34
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the sunny shores of 1859 America with Winslow's *August in the Country--The Sea-Shore*, a lively wood engraving published in *Harper's Weekly* on August 27. At just 23, Homer was honing his skills as a commercial illustrator for the era's most popular magazine, capturing the everyday joys of pre-Civil War life. print depicts a group of figures frolicking on the beach—splashing in the waves and basking in summer's warmth—offering a rare glimpse of leisure amid a rapidly industrializing nation. Homer's realistic style shines here, with precise lines and dynamic compositions that fores...
About the Artist
Winslow Homer · 1836–1910
Winslow Homer (1836-1910) was one of America's greatest painters and a preeminent figure in 19th-century American art. Largely self-taught, Homer began his career as a commercial illustrator and Civil War correspondent for Harper's Weekly before becoming renowned for his powerful marine subjects and landscape paintings. His mastery of both oil and watercolor, combined with his uncompromising reali...