Corner of Winter, Washington and Summer Streets, Boston (Ballou's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, Vol. XII)

Corner of Winter, Washington and Summer Streets, Boston (Ballou's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, Vol. XII) is a significant early work by Winslow Homer, executed in 1857. This detailed wood engraving, a popular medium for journalistic illustration in the mid-19th century, was published in Ballou's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, providing a vivid glimpse into daily life in one of America's major metropolitan centers.

The print captures a bustling Boston street scene, specifically focusing on a convergence of major thoroughfares during the Winter season. Homer meticulously renders the Crowd, depicting pedestrians navigating the icy streets, many bundled against the cold, providing crucial historical documentation of contemporary urban fashion and activity. The composition emphasizes the commercial vibrancy of the city, with architectural details framing the dense activity of the marketplace.

While primarily a terrestrial scene, the inclusion of Ships in the background subtly connects this urban center to Boston's maritime economy and its role as a key international port. Homer, then a young illustrator, demonstrates his emerging talent for narrative clarity and atmospheric detail. This piece foreshadows his later mastery in capturing human interaction within specific environmental contexts.

This important Print is housed within the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, offering insight into Homer's formative years before his renown as a painter. The work, created during a period of rapid industrial and cultural change, exemplifies the American tradition of periodical illustration and remains a key historical record of mid-century Boston.