ABOUT THE PRINTS

Winslow Homer was an American artist and perhaps the foremost illustrator of the nineteenth century, born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1836. He excelled in many types of media, from illlustrations in graphite and charcoal to watercolor and oil paintings. Homer first visited the Adirondacks in 1870 and began a tradition of frequently visiting throughout the remainder of his life, until his death in 1910. Winslow Homer is one of the most prominent figures in the history of American landscape painting as well as the realism movement of the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries.

Shown above is Deer-Stalking in the Adirondacks in Winter and Lumbering in Winter, which are both plate lithographs made from original wood engravings. The prints were featured in Harper’s Weekly newspaper on January 28, 1871. Originally, these were Homer’s illustrations sketched in the Adirondacks, then each illustration was professionally engraved by American artist John Parker Davis, with whom Winslow Homer collaborated many times. The engravings were then electrotyped to be made into metal printing plates for the publisher.

Deer-Stalking in the Adirondacks in Winter depicts two backwoodsmen hunting a whitetail deer in the forest during wintertime. The men are bearing rifles, wearing teardrop snowshoes, and have assistance from a trusty hunting dog who is tracking the deer ahead of them. The men are moving quickly and quietly stalking the deer, which creates suspense. Homer represents these men and their hunt in a way that immerses the viewer in the scene, inviting the viewer into the adventure. Lumbering in Winter depicts two lumberjacks hand felling trees in the wintertime. The men wield axes and are wearing teardrop snowshoes. Scenes such as this one, of logging in the Adirondacks during the nineteenth century, were seldom illustrated, and thus Lumbering in Winter allows the viewer to witness the solitary and isolated lumberjacks of the old days. Today, Homer’s Adirondack illustrations offer an understanding of the history of the region, and in both illustrations, Homer provides a glimpse into the isolated lives of men who otherwise might be lost to history. -Colt Lyndaker

 

Winslow Homer
Deer-Stalking in the Adirondacks in Winter, 1871
Plate lithograph from wood engraving, printed in Harper’s Weekly, 8 ½” x 11 ½ in.
SLU 99.1
Richard F. Brush Art Gallery
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY

Lumbering in Winter, 1871
Plate lithograph from wood engraving, printed in Harper’s Weekly, 11 ½” x 8 ½ in.
SLU 99.8
Richard F. Brush Art Gallery
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY