Hon. Roger B. Taney, Chief-Justice of the United States, from Harper's Weekly, December 8, 1860
1860
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
1996.63.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking wood engraving, titled *Hon. Roger B.ey, Chief-Just of the United States*, captures the formidable presence of Roger B. Taney in a knee-length portrait published in *Harper's Weekly on December 8, 1860. Created by Winslow Homer, then a young illustrator honing his craft, the print showcases Taney in formal attire, seated with a stern gaze that conveys authority and gravitas. As part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, gifted through The Ray Austrian Collection, it exemplifies the era's graphic arts—precise wood engravings reproduced for mass circulation in popula...
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...