Our Next President
Original title: "Our Next President" (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XII)
kurzbeschreibung
Winslow Homer's wood engraving "Our Next President," published on October 31, 1868, belongs among the political prints he produced for Harper's Weekly. An interior is shown in which two women and two men sit together over wine; a framed portrait of a man hangs on the wall.
Description
The layout suggests a restaurant or a private reception. At the middle, a woman holds a wine glass and looks toward the man seated opposite her, who also has a glass in hand. Another woman appears at the left, another man at the right, both watching the seated figure. A clock, a picture frame and a shelf of assorted objects fill the rear of the room. Above the view run the words "Harper's Weekly" and the date, and beneath them the framed portrait of a man appears.
Context
The print came out in the October 31, 1868 issue of Harper's Weekly, only days before the U.S. presidential election on November 3. Homer was earning his living at the time as an illustrator for the magazine. The subject picks up the political mood before the vote, in which Ulysses S. Grant was a candidate. Who the man in the portrait is cannot be established with certainty.
Impact
The quiet, everyday sociability and the gathered glances of the figures feel attentive and at the same time ironic. The clear black-and-white print draws the eye to the interaction among the people and to the framed portrait. Private company and public political expectation flow into one another in this print.
Technique
Homer worked here in wood engraving, a relief process in which the drawing is cut into a block of wood and then printed. The print is executed in black and white. Fine hatching and lines give a detailed rendering of figures and room.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)