What Shall We Do Next?, from Harper's Bazar, July 31, 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
1996.63.163
Tags
Art Historical Context
Winslow Homer's *What Shall We Do Next*, published in *Harper's Bazar* July 31, 1869, captures a serene moment of post-Civil War American leisure. As a leading Realist artist, Homer often depicted everyday life with keen observation, transitioning from his Civil War illustrations to scenes of domestic tranquility. This wood engraving print reflects the Gilded Age's emerging middle-class pastimes, set on a shaded porch where women embody Victorian ideals of refinement and repose. In the image, elegantly dressed figures lounge in chairs amid sewing supplies and croquet mallets, pondering their ...
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...