The Last Days of Harvest
Winslow Homer, American, 1836 - 1910
1879
Wood engraving
Impression: 9 × 13 1/4 in. (22.9 × 33.7 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Appleton 1792 Memorial Fund
PR.943.81
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Research Area
Not on view
Label
Following the nation’s traumatic Civil War, Winslow Homer, focused on the seemingly innocent joys of childhood, typically represented by boys and girls playing outdoors in rural areas, close to nature. Boys, considered the nation’s future, received particular attention after hundreds of thousands of men were killed in the war. Homer illustrated several lively New England harvest celebrations for Harper’s Weekly magazine, but the melancholy mood of this image, despite its scenic backdrop, suggests some of the drudgery of rural labors for children more inclined to play. The engraving also reflects the influence of Native American husbandry on American settlers; corn and pumpkins, both native to this continent, were first grown as companion crops by the Native peoples of the Americas.
From the 2022 exhibition This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, curated by Jami C. Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art; Barbara J. MacAdam, former Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art; Thomas H. Price, former Curatorial Assistant; Morgan E. Freeman, former DAMLI Native American Art Fellow; and Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Course History
ANTH 7.05, Animals and Humans, Laura Ogden, Winter 2022
GEOG 31.01, Postcolonial Geographies, Erin Collins, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ARTH 5.01, Introduction to Contemporary Art, Mary Coffey and Chad Elias, Winter 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
SPAN 65.15, Wonderstruck: Archives and the Production of Knowledge in an Unequal World, Silvia Spitta and Barbara Goebel, Summer 2022
Provenance
The Book & Print Shop, Cora McDevitt Wilson (1880-1975), Hanover, New Hampshire; sold to present collection, 1943.
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