The Surgeon at Work at the Rear During an Engagement

The Surgeon at Work at the Rear During an Engagement by Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910) was published in 1862 by Harper's Weekly. This print, a powerful visual record of the American Civil War, was executed using the medium of wood engraving on paper, a technique vital for disseminating visual news across the United States during the 19th century. As a special artist-correspondent for the illustrated weekly, Homer was frequently on the front lines, providing contemporary viewers with unflinching documentation of the conflict beyond the main battle lines.

This specific work focuses on the harrowing reality of military medicine. Homer depicts surgeons working intensely at a field station, highlighting the immediate dangers and crude conditions under which life-saving operations were conducted, often just moments after a military engagement. The composition emphasizes the grim necessity of medical intervention, capturing the exhaustion of the medical staff and the suffering of the wounded soldiers. Such depictions were crucial in shaping public perception of the war’s costs, offering an alternative perspective to romanticized accounts of combat common at the time.

Classified simply as a print, the technical skill required to produce the complex detail in the wood block highlights the craftsmanship of the era’s illustrators and engravers. Because of its age and initial mass publication in Harper’s Weekly, this historic visual documentation is often treated as public domain material, making high-quality reproductions and prints widely accessible today for historical study. This crucial document of American history is permanently housed in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.