Winslow Homer Civil War Art:

The Undisputed 1861 Collection

When Winslow Homer began his career with Harper's Weekly, he had no formal art training and was not, at the time, respected as a great artist.  Much of his early work at Harper's Weekly was to make sketches from Mathew Brady photographs.  These sketches were then carved onto large wooden blocks, and used to "stamp" the images onto the pages of Harper's Weekly.  These original Harper's Weekly pages have now become treasured pieces of art. 

During the year 1861 we can begin to see a transition in Homer's work in Harper's Weekly.  As the year progresses he is used less to transcribe Brady photographs, and is used more to capture important events, such as the Abraham Lincoln Inauguration.

Below, for your consideration, we present the entire body of Winslow Homer work for the year 1861.  We include images with his signature, or images that are attributed in the text to Winslow Homer, or attributed to Harper's "Special Artist", which was a designator used by Harpers for Winslow Homer.  There are a number of other illustrations which likely are by Winslow Homer, but can not be verified for certain.  In this collection, we present only those images which can be attributed to Homer without question or controversy.

1861 Winslow Homer Civil War Illustrations:

Click on Thumbnails for more info on the Winslow Homer Prints, and an enlarged view.

January 5, 1861 - Georgia Delegation in Congress

February 21, 1861 - The Seceding Mississippi Delegation, Featuring Jefferson Davis

March 16, 1861 - The Inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln

January 5, 1861 -  Seeing the Year Out

March 16, 1861 - The Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln

Seventy Ninth New York Militia (New York Highlanders)

March 16, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln Enters Senate Chamber with President Buchanan

April 27, 1861 - General P. G. T. Beauregard

April 27, 1861 - General Thomas Swearing in the Volunteers

May 11, 1861 - Colonel Wilson of Wilson's Brigade

September 14, 1861 - Flag Officer Stringham

Winslow Homer- Watertown Arsenal

June 8, 1861 - Long Bridge over the Potomac

November 23, 1861 - The Songs of Civil War

Winslow Homer- Role of Women in Civil War

December 21, 1861 -  A Bivouac Fire on the Potomac

December 28, 1861 - The Great Fair Given in New York City

The images above represent the work of Winslow Homer appearing in the year 1861 in Harper's Weekly.  These are the images that are not in dispute, either because they are signed by Homer, or referred to in the newspaper as his work, or the work of the Harper's Weekly "special artist", a designator given to Winslow Homer. We are hopeful that you enjoy this work, and that the resources we are making available here are useful to you. 

A Note to our Readers

We acquired the artwork above for the purpose of digitally persevering them on this site for all to enjoy.  With the digital archive complete, we are making the original, 140 year old illustrations available for purchase.  By selling these original illustrations, we are able to acquire more material to archive on this site.  If you are interested in purchasing one of the original Harper's Weekly leafs on this page, contact paul@sonofthesouth.net The leafs are available for a price of $250 a piece, and the proceeds will go to continue to expand the resources on this site.