The Bathers (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XVII)

The Bathers (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XVII) is a significant wood engraving created by Winslow Homer in 1873. This print exemplifies Homer's early professional focus on illustration for widely circulated American periodicals. As a relief print published in the highly influential Harper's Weekly, the work captures a typical scene of leisure and seaside activity during the post-Civil War era. The medium of wood engraving, which demanded precision in rendering figures and detail, allowed Homer to disseminate his observations of contemporary life to a broad national audience.

The subject matter focuses on young girls gathered near the water's edge on a busy beach, engaging in the common recreation of bathing. Homer expertly structures the composition, positioning the figures, several small boats anchored in the distance, and the expanse of the ocean to define the setting as a popular recreational area. The artist consistently depicted American leisure and the social dynamics of the seashore, emphasizing the carefree nature of childhood and public interaction.

This piece offers insight into the burgeoning popularity of beaches as public recreational spaces in the 1870s, a theme Homer would revisit throughout his career in more dramatic coastal compositions. This important illustrative print is housed within the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Because this work was published in a major periodical, high-quality prints of the 1873 composition are widely accessible and frequently found in the public domain today, ensuring the continued study of Homer's pivotal period of black-and-white illustration.