The Seceding South Carolina Delegation, from Harper's Weekly, December 22, 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
1996.63.8
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the tense months leading up to the Civil War, Winslow Homer captured a pivotal moment in American history with *The Seceding South Carolina*, published in *Harper's Weekly* on December 22, 1860. As a young illustrator for the prominent magazine, Homer depicted the South Carolina statesmen who spearheaded the state's secession from the Union—the first to do so after Abraham Lincoln's election. This graphic arts print, likely featuring detailed head portraits (as suggested by its tags), immortalizes these figures amid the growing sectional divide over slavery and states' rights. Homer's earl...
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...