Crew of the United States Steam-Sloop "Colorado" Shipped at Boston, from Harper's Weekly, July 13, 1861
1861
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
1996.63.44
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1861, as the American Civil War erupted, Winslow Homer captured a pivotal moment of national mobilization in *Crew of the United States-Sloop "Colorado"ipped at Boston*, published in *Harper's Weekly* on July 13. wood engraving depicts sailors boarding the USS *Colorado*, a powerful steam-sloop outfitted in Boston's shipyards, ready to enforce the Union blockade against the Confederacy. Homer, then a young illustrator for the era's leading illustrated newspaper, sketched scenes from life, blending reportage with artistry to bring distant events into American homes. The artwork's historical...
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...