Thanksgiving Day – The Dinner (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. II)
Original title: Thanksgiving Day – The Dinner (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. II)
kurzbeschreibung
Winslow Homer made this wood engraving for Harper's Weekly in 1858. The sheet combines two scenes stacked one above the other: a Thanksgiving dinner and a festive dance. It belongs to the illustrated prints that circulated widely in nineteenth-century American magazines.
Description
At the top, a group gathers around a large table set with food and drink. The clothing matches the fashion of around 1858; wood paneling and pictures on the wall define the room. Below is a dance: people in festive dress move across the floor, while a chandelier and other decorations adorn the hall. Both scenes are executed as wood engravings, the kind common for magazine illustrations in the nineteenth century.
Context
Homer created the engraving in 1858, while working as a freelance illustrator for Harper's Weekly. Thanksgiving was then still a young holiday in the United States—officially celebrated only from 1863, though already established in some regions. In his early work Homer often recorded scenes of American everyday life. The print appeared in the magazine's Christmas issue, which addressed a broad middle-class readership.
Impact
The image conveys an idyllic, harmonious holiday mood. Placing food and dance side by side emphasizes the social and communal meaning of Thanksgiving. The clear, detailed style of the wood engraving gives the sheet a documentary quality that draws the viewer into the scene.
Technique
Wood engraving is a process in which the design is cut into a wood block and then printed on paper. This allowed fine lines and details, which made the technique especially suitable for magazine illustrations. The image measures 17.5 x 23.5 cm, the sheet 40.6 x 27.9 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)