Winslow Homer (US American, 1836 – 1910)
Gathering Berries, 1874
wood engraving
Gift of Chris Welles Feder in memory of Irwin Feder, 2018.218.37
9 1/8” x 13 5/8”
“[Winslow Homer’s] prints trace developments in his compositional strategies and preferred subjects—domesticity, leisure, and manual labor, all set against idyllic New England landscapes—that continued even after he abandoned illustration in the late 1880s. The images also cultivated a specific vision of America during an era of immense social, political, and technological transformation. They would have been printed by the thousands and purchased widely by an increasingly literate middle-class population. Homer’s illustrations provide insight into the production and circulation of images that masterfully encapsulated America at this moment.” – Scenes in Circulation: Winslow Homer’s America, Fitchburg Art Museum
Homer’s widely consumed illustrations of domestic interaction with tranquil landscapes reflect the importance of the natural environment—and its ready susceptibility to human development—to the American popular consciousness.