The Russian Ball – In the Supper Room (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. VII)
November 21, 1863
Medium
Wood engraving
Dimensions
image: 10 3/4 x 9 1/8 in. (27.3 x 23.2 cm) sheet: 11 13/16 x 16 1/8 in. (30 x 40.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
Accession Number
29.88.5(1)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant chaos of *The Russian Ball In the Supper Room*, a vivid wood engraving by Winslow Homer published in *Harper's Weekly* November 21, 3. Created during the height of the American Civil War this illustration captures a moment of lavish social revelry in what appears to be a New York ballroom event honoring Russian dignitaries. Homer, then a rising star among periodical illustrators for Harper & Brothers, masterfully sketched men and women in formal attire gathered around supper tables, toasting and dining amid crystal glassware and flickering candlelight. Wood engraving, th...
About the Artist
Winslow Homer|Harper's Weekly|Harper & Brothers · 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...