The Drive in the Central Park, New York, September 1860, from Harper's Weekly, September 15, 1860
1860
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
1996.63.109
Tags
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer's *The Drive in the Central, New York, September1860*, published in *Harper's Weekly* on 15, 1860, captures a vibrant autumn scene of horse-drawn carriages parading through the newly opened Central Park. As a skilled illustrator for the popular magazine, the young Homer (then 24) masterfully rendered the elegant figure groups, prancing horses, and leafy pathways, evoking the leisurely pursuits of New York's elite amid the park's nascent landscapes. This wood engraving print exemplifies the graphic arts' role in 19th-century America, where detailed black-and-white illustrations b...
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...