← Winslow Homer

Filling Cartridges at the United States Arsenal, at Watertown, Massachusetts (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. 5, no. 238, cover)

Original title: Filling Cartridges at the United States Arsenal, at Watertown, Massachusetts (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. 5, no. 238, cover)

Artist

Winslow Homer

Date

July 20, 1861

Medium

Wood engraving

Dimensions

image: 10 7/8 x 9 1/4 in. (27.6 x 23.5 cm) sheet: 16 1/8 x 10 7/8 in. (41 x 27.6 cm)

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928

kurzbeschreibung

Workers fill cartridges at the arsenal in Watertown, Massachusetts, in this wood engraving by Winslow Homer. Published as the cover of Harper's Weekly on July 20, 1861, the print captures a slice of the Union's arms buildup during the American Civil War.

Description

At long tables, women and men bend over the production of ammunition; long-sleeved shirts and head coverings match the fashion of the day. Behind the workers, shelves lined with rifles and equipment recede into the distance, while two guns lie on a surface in the foreground. The linear texture typical of wood engraving runs through the entire image.

Context

Created shortly after the Civil War broke out in April 1861, the drawing dates from a period when Winslow Homer was working as a freelance illustrator for Harper's Weekly, one of the most widely circulated magazines in the United States. The rendering of cartridge production points to the mobilization of the Northern states.

Impact

Focused, almost quiet labor defines the picture and makes the seriousness of war preparations palpable. Tools and weapons are recorded with great precision, giving the process an industrial character.

Technique

For printing, the image was cut into a woodblock and then pulled. The precise linework and clear texture correspond to the magazine printing technique common at the time.

AI-generated description text

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