The Late Col. Samuel Jaques

The Late Col. Samuel Jaques by Winslow Homer is a significant early work created in 1859. Classified as a print, this piece utilizes the laborious technique of wood engraving, which was the dominant form of illustration in the United States during the mid-19th century. This demanding process involved carving the image into the end grain of a block of hard wood, allowing for high-detail reproduction suitable for rapid printing in contemporary newspapers and magazines. The resulting print of The Late Col. Samuel Jaques likely served as a commemorative or obituary illustration, reflecting the growing cultural importance of illustrated journalism in the years immediately preceding the Civil War.

While Winslow Homer later achieved widespread fame for his American oil paintings, his foundational career heavily relied on commercial illustration. Works like this early engraving provided Homer with crucial training in composition and draftsmanship. Homer’s output of detailed prints, such as this depiction of Colonel Jaques, exemplifies the type of visual media distributed throughout the United States, documenting important figures and historical moments for a wide American audience. The successful rendering of volume and likeness within the constraints of the black-and-white medium confirms Homer's technical aptitude even at this early stage.

This important historical print resides within the distinguished collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Because of the artwork's age and significance to American visual history, examples of this wood engraving are often made available through public domain initiatives, ensuring that these historical prints remain accessible to contemporary viewers and scholars.