Homer's Change of Heart

Winslow Homer is regarded by many as one of the greatest American painters during the nineteenth century. Born and raised in Massachusetts, he began his career printmaking for the renowned Harper’s Weekly journal throughout the Civil War era. Shortly after landing this job, Homer was sent to the front in Virginia as an art correspondent. Capturing the full effect of the Civil War, Homer went on to display some of the most influential representations of blacks during and post-emancipation that America has seen.


In the same way that racial tensions were divided during the nineteenth century, so Homer was divided in his own personal views of blacks. Kicking off his career displaying racial caricature, Homer added fuel to the fire regarding the stereotype of blacks. Starting with prints and later turning to oil painting, Homer depicted blacks in the context of the Civil War era in ways that dehumanized them. While this type of depiction was common at the time, as the Civil War came to an end Homer reflected more upon the impact and meaning behind the war, sympathizing more with the oppressed.


Throughout Homer’s artistic career, Homer moved from dark depressing depictions of the war to happy natural scenes, most commonly having to do with coastal views. This exhibition sets forth paintings displaying Homer’s change of heart regarding his feelings towards blacks during the nineteenth century.




Our Jolly Cook

Artist: Winslow Homer

Date: 1863

Medium: Lithograph

Art Institute of Chicago

Accession Number: 2013.799

In this print, Homer is showcasing the ever present racial divide between black and whites during the nineteenth century. Completed one year after the emancipation, this print displays the common stereotype that blacks are less noble than their white counterparts. The Union soldiers in the back are watching as the African American cook dances around their camp making a fool of himself. With music and dance being a big part of black culture during this time, blacks depicted as dancing became a very common racial caricature throughout the nineteenth century.




Defiance: Inviting a Shot Before Petersburg

Artist: Winslow Homer

Date: 1864

Medium: Oil on panel

Detroit Institute of Arts

Accession Number: 51.66

In this image a Confederate soldier is seen on top of a trench challenging Union sharpshooter to fire at him. Accompanied by an African American banjo player, we see the banjo man has exaggerated features. These exaggerated features of big lips and bright eyes highlight the representational caricature of blacks known as blackface. While this image does stereotype the African American, the orientation of the man is something to be noted. As the war comes to an end, the man is seen looking at the confederate soldier who is making a fool of himself, expressing a reversal of roles for the stereotypical black.



The Bright Side

Artist: Winslow Homer

Date: 1865

Medium: Oil on canvas

Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco

Accession Number: 1979.7.56

This piece is one that displays Homer’s progressive view of the African American. With two freed slaves laying against a Union tent, this scene is captured from the perspective of a Union soldier. The irony behind this painting is that although these men are freed, as the Union headed south these men were essentially still property of the Union at this time. Homer uses this idea to shed light on the fact that these two men can look on the “bright side” now that they are no longer victims of racial warfare. The change in appearance of the African Americans in this piece is also something to be noted, becoming a lot more naturalistic rather than characterized.




Dressing For the Carnival

Artist: Winslow Homer

Date: 1877

Medium: Oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Accession Number: 22.220

Homer’s depiction of African Americans in this painting is one that drastically shows his change of respect for black people of the time. Creating this piece one year after the failure of the Reconstruction age, Homer highlights respect and endurance towards African Americans. With the setting observing a Christmas celebration which was observed by many enslaved blacks known as Jonkonnu, Homer is drawing attention to the legacy of slavery and strength that it took to persevere. With traditional African American culture being shown through the bright clothing depicted, this painting symbolizes the new beginning that blacks were receiving.



The Gulf Stream 

Artist: Winslow Homer

Date: 1899

Medium: Oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Accession Number: 06.1234

Towards the end of his life, Winslow Homer painted “The Gulf Stream”, a time where although the battle was long over, the war was still very present. With the Civil Rights Movement coming to an end, Homer displayed a black man trapped at sea, a highly symbolic image. Attempting to show the man in full freedom, Homer is displaying the contradiction of the freed slaves with the ever present oppression that still existed through symbolism. Although the man on the boat looks to be free, a feeling of imprisonment, as many blacks felt during the time when segregation came to life, is displayed. The danger of the broken boat, sharks, and storm sheds light on the deadly and out of control racial divide of this time, something that Homer had come to realize by the end of his life.