‘At the Spring, Saratoga,’ by Winslow Homer

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At the Spring, Saratoga

Winslow Homer

1869

Wood engraving by an unknown engraver

9 1/8 x 8½ inches

Hearth and Home (August 28, 1869): 561266

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A vivid portrait of the leisured classes taking the water at Saratoga Springs in the year (1869) that the town was established. Homer’s verisimilitude captures the costumes and manners of the time, presenting a version of America as a western society in symmetry with Victorian England. He stresses the affectation of the women’s costumes, with their pleats and bustles, and the group as a whole forms a strong contrast with his plain imagery of country and working people.

Bibliography

Hearth and Home (1869).

Created 29 August 2023