Our Minister's Donation Party, from Harper's Bazar, December 19, 1868
1868
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
1996.63.161
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the lively chaos of 19th-century American domestic life with Winslow Homer's *Our Minister's Party*, a wood engraving published in *Harper's Bazar* on December , 1868. This print captures a boisterous "donation party"—a cherished community tradition where parishioners gathered at their minister's home, arms laden with food, goods, and cheer to supplement the clergy's modest salary. Homer masterfully depicts a crowded parlor filled with figures: clergy at the center, families jostling with baskets, and children amid the festive clutter, all rendered in his signature realistic style. ...
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...