Thanksgiving in Camp, from Harper's Weekly, November 29, 1862
1862
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
1996.63.51
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Thanksgiving in Camp** (1862) by Winslow Homer a poignant moment of respite amid the American Civil War. Published in *Harper's Weekly* on November29, 1862, this wood engraving depicts Union soldiers gathered in a makeshift camp near barracks, sharing a Thanksgiving meal. Homer, then a young artist and special correspondent for the magazine, sketched scenes from the front lines, bringing the realities of soldier life to a Northern audience hungry for news and humanity during the conflict. Homer's realistic style shines through in the print's detailed rendering of everyday details—tents, coo...
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...