This is a souvenir card. During the Civil war "souvenir" cards, envelopes, plates, buckles, and just about anything that would receive an image were used to commemorate an event or person from the Civil war. Winslow Homer did at least two that are in the collections of the Library of Congress.

In 1861, Homer qualified as a special artist for Harper's Weekly and he soon was supplying them with double-page woodcuts of his illustrations depicting battles and camp scenes. He was not concerned with the noise and strife of battles, but focused on the human interest that showed in camps and with loved ones back home. His work, such as "Yankee Sharpshooter" and "Prisoners at the Front" were acclaimed by critics and established his reputation early on as a painter.

Between 1861 and 1865, Homer made several trips to the war front in Virginia. Armed with a letter from Fletcher Harper, the editor of Harper's Weekly, identifying him as a "special artist," Homer was able to move through the lines and gain access to the Army of the Potomac. Winslow Homer's illustrations of the Civil War have become the most collected artistic material of this era.

After the war Homer contributed to Harper's for a period before beginning to work in watercolors. He focused on rural and idyllic images throughout the 1870's. He moved to England in 1882 where he lived in a fishing village for two years. On his return he began focusing on large scale scenes of nature, particularly the sea, its fisherman, and their families. He had moved to Prout's Neck, Maine where he produced his masterpieces such as "Gulf Stream," "Life Line," and "Eight Bells." In his later years he produced memorable watercolors of the Bahamas. He died at Prout's Neck, Maine, September 29, 1910.

Medium : 12 prints (1 page) : chromolithograph

Created/Published : L. Prang & Co., Boston, 1864

Creator : Winslow Homer, artist, 1836-1910

Housed in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress

Availability: Usually ships in one week

Product #: cph3g11459