The Battle of Bunker Hill—Watching the Fight from Copp's Hill, in Boston
published June 26, 1875
Medium
Wood engraving on paper
Dimensions
Image: 23.2 × 34.8 cm (9 3/16 × 13 3/4 in.); Sheet: 28.1 × 40.4 cm (11 1/8 × 15 15/16 in.)
Classification
wood engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
158343
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer's *The Battle of Bunker Hill—Watching the Fight from Copp's Hill, in Boston*, published June 26, 1875, captures a pivotal moment from the American Revolutionary War through the eyes of Boston spectators. This wood engraving depicts anxious onlookers perched on Copp's Hill, gazing across the harbor toward the fierce clash on June 17, 1775. Homer, a master of American realism, skillfully conveys the tension and drama, blending historical drama with everyday human emotion. The Battle of Bunker Hill (often misnamed, as much fighting occurred on Breed's Hill) was an early test of col...
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...