Winslow Homer: Painter of the Civil War

Winslow Homer took the unusual step of becoming a painter in the midst of war. Homer had come to New York in 1859 probably to study painting technique, although he continued free-lance illustrative work before and during the war for a livelihood. Critics, however, as early as 1861, had encouraged painters to undertake war subjects. Homer had ready access to suitable material through his experiences in the field initially as an illustrator. Thus he was able to seize the moment of the Civil War to disengage himself from dependency on graphic work and pursue his interest in painting. Homer consciously grouped for recognition during the war years. He recognized the potential of the war as a means of promoting his career as a painter. Contrary to interpretations of Homer which have focused on his later hermit-like posture at Prout's Neck, during the Civil War years Homer clearly was part of the New York artistic environment. He heeded critical advice urging painters to deal with the war and responded accordingly, winning almost immediately favorable recognition. While Homer's activities and attitudes relating to the war years are shown as having been responsive to the times, at the same time they were distinct and singular. In order to appreciate this dichotomy, it is necessary to understand critical attitudes to Homer's work during the Civil War years and critical expectations for artists in general during that period. The actual practice of a few selected New York-based artists who occasionally dealt with war subjects provides a useful contrast to Homer's activity. Homer's Civil War drawings inform about his intentions and location and as such are a crucial corollary to his work as a painter. Lastly, the imagery which Homer found appropriate for the representation of the war, the development of his technique and concepts of the role of painting are presented through an examination of the Civil War paintings themselves.