Ship-building, Gloucester Harbor, from Harper's Weekly, October 11, 1873
1873
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
1996.63.88
Tags
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer's *Ship-building, Gloucester Harbor published in *Harper's Weekly* on 11, 1873, captures the bustling energy of New England maritime life during America's post-Civil War industrial boom. As a renowned Realist artist, Homer began his career as a wood engraving correspondent for the popular magazine, documenting everyday scenes with vivid detail and authenticity. This print depicts shipbuilding activity in Gloucester Harbor, Massachusetts—a vital hub for fishing and ship construction—highlighting the labor of workers and the presence of children, who often learned trades in such co...
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...