Crew of U.S. Steamsloop "Colorado," Shipped at Boston, June 1861 (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. 5, p. 439)

Winslow Homer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This comes from a group of wood engravings Homer drew for "Harper's Weekly," some of which he did not sign. In 1861 Harper's hired the artist full-time to sketch Civil War subjects and he traveied to Washington DC and the front, also finding material in his native Massachusetts. Here he shows a group of sailors standing on a wooden dock. Related text describes this as: "a truthful picture of the crew of the United States steam frigate Colorado, which has lately sailed from Boston to join the blockading fleet. The men were all recruited and shipped at Boston, and we understand that an unusual proportion of them are American. Their physique goes to show that the race has not degenerated in that part of the country, and when occasion offers they will do full justice to the reputation which our gallant tars have won in many a fight and on many a sea."

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.

Metropolitan Museum of Art