Spring Blossoms (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XIV)
May 12, 1870
Medium
Wood engraving
Dimensions
image: 9 1/8 x 13 7/8 in. (23.2 x 35.2 cm) sheet: 10 11/16 x 15 15/16 in. (27.1 x 40.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
Accession Number
29.88.8(4)
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Spring Blossoms**, a wood engraving by Winslow Homer in *Harper's Weekly* on May 12, 1870, captures the gentle vitality of spring. Featured in Volume XIV of the influential American magazine, the image depicts young girls and women surrounded by blooming flowers and trees evoking renewal and the simple joys of nature. Homer, renowned for his realistic depictions American life, skillfully conveys the freshness of the season through delicate figures interacting with the landscape, a theme that resonated with post-Civil War audiences seeking optimism. As a wood engraving—a precise technique wh...
About the Artist
Winslow Homer|Harper's Weekly|Harper & Brothers · 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...