The Last Load, from Appletons' Journal of Literature, Science, and Art, August 7, 1869
1869
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
1996.63.135
Tags
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer's *The Last Load*, published in *Appletons' Journal of Literature, Science and Art* on August7, 1869, captures a poignant moment in rural American life. This graphic arts print depicts a group of—likely farmers—gathering the final harvest with rakes and scythes loading hay onto a wagon under a vast sky. Homer, a master of Realism, skillfully renders the physical labor and camaraderie of the scene, evoking the rhythm of seasonal toil on the farm. Created just four years after the Civil War's end, the artwork reflects post-war America's focus on agrarian renewal and the enduring s...
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...