The Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as President, from Harper's Weekly, March 4, 1861
1861
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
1996.63.112
Tags
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer's *The Inauguration of Abraham as President*, published in *Harper's Weekly* on 4, 1861, captures a defining moment in American history: Lincoln's swearing-in as the 16th president amid rising national tensions. Rendered as a wood engraving—a graphic arts print technique that allowed for rapid, mass reproduction in weekly newspapers—this image depicts the oath-taking ceremony at the U. Capitol, surrounded by a dense figure group of dignitaries soldiers, and onlookers. Homer, then a young illustrator for *Harper's*, skillfully conveys the gravity of the scene through meticulous li...
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...