Saddle Horse in Farm Yard

Saddle Horse in Farm Yard, created by Winslow Homer between 1867 and 1875, is an intimate oil on wood panel painting that captures a quiet moment of agrarian life in the late 19th-century United States. Dating from a critical period of transition in Homer’s career-from prolific illustrator to independent painter-this work reflects his growing interest in depicting candid genre scenes focused on rural and domestic subjects. The choice of oil on wood allows for a direct, immediate application of paint, lending the small-scale piece a remarkable sense of spontaneity, akin to a formal study or preparatory sketch.

The painting’s subject focuses on the central figure of a large farm animal. Homer carefully renders the powerful form of the Saddle Horse in Farm Yard, standing patiently near a wooden structure. Such focused studies of horses were important components of the artist's visual vocabulary, demonstrating his commitment to naturalism and keen observation of working life. While some of Homer’s celebrated watercolors from this era addressed dramatic coastal scenes, this piece offers a quiet contemplation of the interdependence between man and animal necessary for farming in the American countryside.

This iconic piece of American art is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a masterwork of 19th-century American realism, the image is widely studied, and high-quality prints derived from the public domain are often accessed by researchers and art enthusiasts interested in Homer’s profound documentation of post-Civil War American experience.