The Summit of Mount Washington, from Harper's Weekly, July 10, 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
1996.63.74
Tags
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer's *The Summit of Mount Washington from Harper's Weekly, 10, 1869*, captures a vibrant moment of 19th-century American leisure amid the rugged beauty of New Hampshire's highest peak. Published in the illustrated newspaper *Harper's*, where Homer honed his skills as a staff artist, this wood engraving print reflects the post-Civil War tourism boom. Mount Washington, already a magnet for adventurers with its new cog railway (opened in 1869), drew crowds eager to conquer its summit, blending nature's grandeur with human triumph. The scene features a lively figure group, including eq...
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...