← Winslow Homer

New York Charities – St. Barnabas House, 304 Mulberry Street (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XVIII)

Original title: New York Charities – St. Barnabas House, 304 Mulberry Street (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XVIII)

Artist

Winslow Homer

Date

April 18, 1874

Medium

Wood engraving

Dimensions

image: 9 1/8 x 13 3/8 in. (23.2 x 34 cm) sheet: 10 11/16 x 15 7/8 in. (27.1 x 40.3 cm)

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928

kurzbeschreibung

Winslow Homer's 1874 wood engraving offers a look inside St. Barnabas House on Mulberry Street in New York. Published in Harper's Weekly on April 18, 1874, the print shows women and children busy at various tasks in the charitable institution.

Description

The layout divides into three zones. At upper left a woman turns toward a child while another figure sits behind her. To the right, three women stand together talking. Below, several women sit at a table doing needlework and conversing as they work. Figures are arranged clearly, which draws the eye to how they interact.

Context

St. Barnabas House served New York as a social institution supporting the poor. In the 1870s Winslow Homer illustrated regularly for Harper's Weekly, one of the leading American magazines. Publications like this one brought urban charity work before a wide public and documented it.

Impact

Soft shading gives the black-and-white print a calm, dignified mood. The clear division of the scenes makes daily life in the institution seem orderly. Detailed lines steer attention toward the relationships between the people.

Technique

For this wood engraving the image was cut into a woodblock. Lines flow and vary in thickness to convey structures and textures. The print yields a precise black-and-white image with illusionistic light and shadow.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)