homer & the american pictorial press

Winslow Homer & the American Pictorial Press Docent Materials

Winslow Homer The War for the Union, 1862-A Bayonet Charge. Published in Harper's Weekly, January 25, 1862.

Winslow Homer & the American Pictorial Press

at the Forsyth Galleries, Texas A&M

March 27-May 31, 2015

Winslow Homer & the American Pictorial Press Docent Materials

This exhibition highlights the emerging celebrity of Winslow Homer (1836-1910) and his contemporary

‘designers’ (a term the illustrators preferred) through the engraved images produced for the American pictorial

press. Homer’s career as an illustrator began in 1857 and ended in 1875, at which point he dedicated himself

solely to painting. During his tenure with such publications as Ballou’s Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion,

Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper and Harper’s Weekly, Homer created more than 200 illustrations. From

leisure scenes of the Adirondacks to battlefields of the Civil War, Homer’s images were admired even then for

their engaging style and dynamic composition.

The prints on display are selected from the original newspaper editions. It is important to note that these prints

were drawn by Homer and his fellow illustrators, but not engraved or printed by them. The pictorial press enlisted

an army of artists, engravers, plate-makers and printers to publish these works. While it is the draftsmen we focus

on, the unnamed craftsmen who engraved and printed these images deserve recognition for bringing these mass

produced publications into the homes of the 19th century families. Assembled in this exhibition are 50 images by

Winslow Homer, Thomas Nast, Alfred Waud, Theodore Davis and Charles Parsons.

Winslow Homer A Night Reconnoissance, on the Potomac, 1861.

Published in Harper's Weekly, October 26, 2009.

Winslow Homer & the American Pictorial Press Docent Materials

Winslow Homer & the American Pictorial Press Docent Materials

ARTISTS ALSO IN THE EXHIBITION

THOMAS NAST

(September 27, 1840 – December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist considered

to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was the scourge of Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall political machine.

Among his notable works were the creation of the modern version of Santa Claus and the political symbol of the elephant

for the Republican Party. Contrary to popular belief, Nast did not create Uncle Sam (the male personification of the

American people), Columbia (the female personification of American values), or the Democratic donkey, though he did

popularize these symbols through his art. Nast was associated with the magazine Harper's Weekly from 1859 to 1860 and

from 1862 until 1886.

As a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast wielded more influence than any other artist of the 19th century. He not only

enthralled a vast audience with boldness and wit, but swayed it time and again to his personal position on the strength of

his visual imagination. Both Lincoln and Grant acknowledged his effectiveness in their behalf, and as a crusading civil

reformer he helped destroy the corrupt Tweed Ring that swindled New York City of millions of dollars. Indeed, his

impact on American public life was formidable enough to profoundly affect the outcome of every presidential election

during the period 1864 to 1884.

ALFRED RUDOLPH WAUD (wōd)

(October 2, 1828 – April 6, 1891) was an American artist and illustrator, born in London, England. He is most notable for

the sketches he made as an artist correspondent during the American Civil War. Before emigration, Alfred Waud had

entered the Government School of Design at Somerset House, London, with the intention of becoming a marine painter.

This did not come to fruition, but as a student, he also worked as a painter of theatrical scenery. He intended to pursue that

work in the United States, when he immigrated in 1850, seeking employment with actor and playwright John Brougham.

In the 1850s, he worked variously as an illustrator for a Boston periodical, the Carpet-Bag, and provided illustrations for

books such as Hunter's Panoramic Guide from Niagara to Quebec (1857).

THEODORE R. DAVIS

(1840–1894) was a 19th-century American artist, who made numerous drawings of significant military and political

events during the American Civil War and its aftermath. Some of these drawings include the Battle of Champion Hill,

and the most significant sketch of General Joseph E. Johnston and General William T. Sherman meeting at the Bennett

Farm near Durham Station to discuss the surrender terms of the remaining Confederate armies in the Southeast.

After the war when the Cyclorama in Atlanta was being painted, Davis was asked for his ideas having traveled with

Sherman's army. He was later added to the painting. Many of his drawings were published as wood engravings in

Harper's Weekly.

CHARLES PARSONS

(1821-1910) Parsons was born in London. He was known for his marine paintings, lithographs and illustrations. His

Civil War works published in Harper’s Weekly were signed C.P. and C. Parsons. (1214, 1540)* From 1863-1889 he was

head art director for Harper’s Weekly.

Winslow Homer & the American Pictorial Press Docent Materials

ON WOOD ENGRAVING

Winslow Homer & the American Pictorial Press Docent Materials

Winslow Homer The Army of the Potomac- A Sharp-Shooter on Picket Duty, 1862.

Published in Harper's Weekly, November 15, 1862.

November 6, 1860 - Abraham Lincoln, who had declared "Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free..."

is elected president, the first Republican, receiving 180 of 303 possible electoral votes and 40 percent of the popular vote.

December 20, 1860 - South Carolina secedes from the Union. Followed within two months by Mississippi, Florida,

Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.

February 9, 1861 - The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former

U.S. Army officer, as president.

March 4, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as 16th President of the United States of America.

April 9, 1865 - Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the village of

Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Grant allows Rebel officers to keep their side arms and permits soldiers to keep

horses and mules.

"After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude the Army of Northern Virginia has

been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources," Lee tells his troops.

CIVIL WAR (1861-1865) The period during the American Civil War was a time when all

images in a publication had to be hand drawn and engraved by

skilled artists. Photography existed but there was no way to

transfer a photograph to a printing plate since this was well

before the advent of the halftone process for printing

photographs. Photographic equipment was too cumbersome and

exposure times were too slow to be used on the battlefield. An

artist would do detailed sketches in the field, which were then

rushed by courier back to the main office of the newspaper they

were working for.

Winslow Homer Hon. Abraham Lincoln, Born In Kentucky, February 12, 1809 [Photographed by Brady], 1860.

Published in Harper's Weekly, November 10, 1860.

Mathew B. Brady Our Russian Visitors, 1863

Published in Harper's Weekly, November 7, 1863