Bathing at Long Branch "Oh, Ain't It Cold" (Every Saturday, Vol. III, New Series)

Bathing at Long Branch "Oh, Ain't It Cold" (Every Saturday, Vol. III, New Series) by Winslow Homer, created in 1871, is a significant example of American illustration from the post-Civil War era. Executed as a wood engraving, this print was designed for mass reproduction in the popular illustrated periodical Every Saturday. Homer utilized this medium extensively in the 1860s and 1870s to capture transient moments of contemporary American life, especially the burgeoning culture of leisure and resort activities.

The composition focuses on a group of women wading into or emerging from the Atlantic waters at Long Branch, a fashionable seaside resort on the New Jersey coast. The title, drawn from the dialogue or observation of the scene, highlights the immediate, often humorous, reality of ocean bathing, lending a candid quality to the illustration. This work is a valuable document of social customs, specifically capturing the modesty standards and required bathing costumes worn by women of the era. Homer was skilled at depicting the informal interactions and postures of his subjects, establishing a sense of realism often absent in more formal artistic representations.

As a print intended for mass distribution, the work reflects the accessibility of visual culture in the Gilded Age. The immediacy of the illustration allowed Homer to hone the compositional skills that would later define his mastery of oil painting. This important piece remains a vital element of the artist's output and is held in the distinguished collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Because this work was published in a 19th-century periodical, high-quality images of this pioneering wood engraving are widely circulated, often available through public domain collections.