On the Bluff at Long Branch, at the Bathing Hour

"On the Bluff at Long Branch, at the Bathing Hour" is a notable wood engraving created by Winslow Homer in 1870 and published by the influential periodical Harper’s Weekly. This print captures a scene of fashionable post-Civil War leisure along the New Jersey coast, documenting the growing American enthusiasm for seaside holidays and public bathing.

As a staff illustrator, Homer frequently employed the medium of wood engraving on paper, a technique essential for the rapid mass reproduction and distribution of images across the United States during the late 19th century. The work depicts elegantly dressed spectators gathered on a coastal bluff, observing the distant figures engaging in the "bathing hour" below. Homer uses genre scenes like this to subtly examine contemporary social dynamics, focusing on the interactions between leisure, class, and gender roles evident in the burgeoning resort culture.

Though Homer is primarily remembered for his later fine art, these early illustrative prints are crucial for understanding his development and his profound influence on American visual culture. The classification of this piece as a print underscores its origin in journalistic illustration rather than gallery exhibition. This historical document, representing a key moment in the artist's career and in the depiction of American recreation, is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Much of Homer's work from this period, having been widely disseminated through periodicals, is today accessible through the public domain.