Filling Cartridges at the United States Arsenal, at Watertown, Massachusetts (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. 5, no. 238, cover)
Medium
Wood engraving
Dimensions
image: 10 7/8 x 9 1/4 in. (27.6 x 23.5 cm) sheet: 16 1/8 x 10 7/8 in. (41 x 27.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
Accession Number
29.88.1(2)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the bustling United States Arsenal at Watertown Massachusetts, as captured on the July 20, 1861, cover of *Harper Weekly* by Winslow Homer. This wood, measuring about 11 x 9 inches, vividly portrays men and women diligently filling cartridges amid the early fervor of the American Civil War Produced just months after the conflict's outbreak at Fort Sumter, it offers a rare glimpse into the home front vital industrial efforts, where ordinary citizens fueled the Union's war machine. Winslow Homer, then a young artist and special correspondent for the popular weekly magazine published by Harper & Brothers, masterfully employed the precise lines of wood engraving—a dominant 19th-century technique for mass reproduction—to convey realism and urgency. His style, rooted in the emerging Realism movement, highlights the workers' focused determination, blending everyday labor with patriotic resolve. Distributed widely across the nation, this anonymous yet Homer-attributed print from *Harper's Weekly* Vol. 5, No. 238, democratized war imagery, educating and rallying the public. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928), it reminds us of the Civil War's profound impact on American society, showcasing women's expanding roles in wartime production and the power of illustrated journalism to shape collective memory.
About the Artist
Winslow Homer|Harper's Weekly|Harper & Brothers|Anonymous, American, 19th century · 1836–1910
Winslow Homer (1836-1910) was one of America's greatest painters and a preeminent figure in 19th-century American art. Largely self-taught, Homer began his career as a commercial illustrator and Civil War correspondent for Harper's Weekly before becoming renowned for his powerful marine subjects and landscape paintings. His mastery of both oil and watercolor, combined with his uncompromising reali...