Sunday Morning in Virginia – From the Painting by Winslow Homer in the National Academy of Design (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XXIV)

Sunday Morning in Virginia – From the Painting by Winslow Homer in the National Academy of Design (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XXIV) is a significant wood engraving created in 1880. This classification of print was derived from a larger oil painting by Winslow Homer, reflecting the artist's serious engagement with the realities of post-Civil War American life. The piece was published in the highly influential weekly journal Harper's Weekly, ensuring broad public distribution of Homer's artistic vision and bringing complex contemporary subjects to a national audience.

The composition captures a quiet, contemplative scene among a group of Black individuals gathered outdoors in the Virginia countryside. Homer emphasizes intergenerational community, featuring seated men and women surrounded by boys and girls. The central focus is the communal act of reading, symbolizing education, faith, and newly gained literacy following emancipation. The solemn grouping and the emphasis on shared texts suggest a Sabbath observance or devotional gathering, a potent motif in Homer's exploration of the Reconstruction-era South.

Although based on Homer’s original painting, the translation of the composition into a wood engraving required expert precision to maintain the dramatic light and strong figure grouping in black and white for mass production. This medium made the original fine art composition accessible to millions of readers throughout the 19th century. This important historical print is now held in the renowned prints collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Due to its publication history and age, high-resolution prints of this seminal work often circulate within the public domain.