Thanksgiving Day in the Army--After Dinner: The Wish-bone, from Harper's Weekly, December 3, 1864
1864
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
1996.63.58
Tags
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer, a pioneering American realist artist, captured the human side of the Civil War in this poignant wood engraving, *Thanksgiving Day in the Army--After Dinner: The Wishone*, published in *Harper's Weekly* on December 3, 1864. As a special artist for the influential illustrated newspaper, Homer sketched scenes from the front lines, translating his on-site observations into detailed prints that brought the war's realities to a national audience. This piece, from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, reflects the era's growing tradition of Thanksgiving, first proclaimed a ...
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...