Thanksgiving Day – The Dinner (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. II)
November 27, 1858
Medium
Wood engraving
Dimensions
image: 6 7/8 x 9 1/4 in. (17.5 x 23.5 cm) sheet: 16 x 11 in. (40.6 x 27.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1936
Accession Number
36.13.4(3)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the warm glow of 19th-century America with Winslow Homer's *Thanksgiving Day – The Dinner a lively wood engraving published in *Harper's Weekly* on November 27, 8. At just 22 years old Homer was honing his skills as an illustrator for this influential periodical, capturing the everyday rhythms of American life before his rise to fame as a Realist painter. This early work reflects the festive spirit of Thanksgiving, a holiday rooted in harvest traditions and growing national identity in the antebellum era. The image bustles with men and women gathered for a holiday feast, blending di...
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...