Winslow Homer 19th Century Woodcut Engraving "Making Hay"

1872

This Winslow Homer woodcut engraving entitled "Skating on the Ladies' Skating-Pond in Central Park, New York", was published in Harper's Weekly in the January 28, 1860 edition. It depicts a large number of men, women and children skating on a recently opened pond in Central Park. At the time of publication of this engraving, Central Park was in the early stages of construction. This engraving documents the very early appearance of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux's masterpiece of landscape design. According to Olmsted, the park was "of great importance as the first real Park made in this century – a democratic development of the highest significance". The people of New York were very proud of the plans for their park. It was stated at the time: "Our Park, which is progressing very satisfactorily under the management of the Commissioners, will undoubtedly be, one of these days, one of the finest place of the kind in the world...Those who saw the Park before the engineers went to work on it are amazed at the beautiful sites which have been contrived with such unpromising materials; all fair persons believe that the enterprise is managed with honesty and good taste." Skating was rapidly rising in national popularity in part due to the opening of Central Park’s lake to skaters on a Sunday in December 1858 with 300 participants. The following Sunday it attracted ten thousand skaters. By Christmas Day, a reported 50,000 people came to the park, most of them to skate. There were rules governing who could use the skating pond. “The Ladies’ Pond...

This Winslow Homer woodcut engraving entitled "The Morning Walk, Young Ladies' School Promenading the Avenue", was published in Harper's Weekly in the...

This Winslow Homer wood engraving entitled "On the Beach at Long Branch, The Children's Hour", was published in Harper's Weekly in the August 15, 1874 ed...

A beautiful aquatint etching of a serene pastoral scene in the Picardy region of northern France by Paul Emile Lecomte (1877-1950). A mother and child are seen walking down a path in...

A colorful and attractive hand-colored 19th century woodcut engraving entitled "A Game of Lacrosse" after a drawing by W. H. Hall. It was published in New York in Harper's Weekly on May 10, 1884. It depicts a scene from an intense lacrosse game. This hand-colored woodcut engraving is presented in a red mat that measures 16" high x 20.63" wide. The sheet measures 10.63" high x 15.88" wide. There is a central fold, as issued. The print is in excellent condition. Lacrosse is the oldest sport in North America, possibly originating as far back as the 1400's. The sport was first invented by Native Americans, who originally played it as a means to toughen braves for war or to settle tribal disputes. It was played by between 100 and 1,000 participants at a time. There were no strict boundaries and the game could cover miles and take days to complete. It was very violent with many injuries, which were sometimes fatal. The game was unknown to whites until the 17th century when a Jesuit priest observed Heron Indians playing it. He thought the stick and netting resembled the "crosier" carried by bishops during religious ceremonies, This led to the name "la crosse". A Canadian dentist standardized the rules of the game in 1867 and the 1st college team was created at New York University in 1877. The game gained national attention and popularity in 1956 when the Hall-of-Fame football player Jim Brown...

This framed engraving entitled "Birds-eye View of the Southern End of New York and Brooklyn, Showing the Projected Suspension-Bridge Over the East River, From the Western Terminus in Printing-House Square, New York" by Theodore R. Davis (1840–1894) was published as a supplement of Harper's Weekly, November 19, 1870. The print is presented in a maple frame and a double mat. The frame measures 23.5" high, 29" wide and 0.75" deep. There is a vertical center fold and additional vertical lines, where wood engraving blocks were joined for the printing process. It is in excellent condition. This framed image depicting New York in 1870 was a centerfold for the November 19, 1870 issue of Harper's Weekly. It includes the site and eventual appearance of the East River New York-Brooklyn Bridge; the name later shortened to the Brooklyn Bridge. The print was issued eleven months after the start of construction of the bridge on January 2, 1870, which would take another 12.5 years to complete. When this view was drawn, work on the bridge was all below ground, constructing the supports for the bridge’s towers. Labels in the upper portion of the print identify locations in the background including "Light Ship...

WILLIAM SELTZER RICE (1873 – 1963) WIND BLOWN POPLARS c. 1915-20 Color woodcut, Signed and titled in pencil. 9 x 12”. On thin paper. Remnants of o...

FRANCES H. GEARHART (1869-1958) DESERT BARRIER c. 1933 Color block print, unsigned 12 x 9 ¼”. Typical original margins on good fibrous japan paper. Many very good impressions by G...

Bold woodblock serigraph by Ruth Chaney (American, 1908-1973). Numbered (#17), titled, signed, and dated along the bottom edge. The Smithsonian American Art Museum has an edition of...

Wonderful tropical Woodcut print of Palm Tree on island. Signed "Wessels" with a KW chop in a box above and 2012 lower edge. Presented in speckled pain...

This artwork titled "The Surfers" 1998 is an original color wood block print by noted California artist Arnold A. Grossman, 1923-2016. It is signed, dated and titled by the artist. ...

FRANCES H. GEARHART (1869-1958) (Mt.) SAN JACINTO c. 1926 Color block print. Signed in pencil. Unknown edition but uncommon. Image 6 5/8 x 4 1/8 inches. On Gearhart's typical fibr...