Near Andersonville: Winslow Homer's Civil War

The Nathan I. Huggins Lectures

by Peter H. Wood

The admired American painter Winslow Homer rose to national attention during the Civil War. But one of his most important early images remained unknown for a century. The renowned artist is best known for depicting ships and sailors, hunters and fishermen, rural vignettes and coastal scenes. Yet he also created some of the first serious black figures in American art. Near Andersonville (1865–66) is the earliest and least known of these impressive images.

Peter Wood, a leading expert on Homer’s images of blacks, reveals the long-hidden story of this remarkable Civil War painting. His brisk narrative locates the picture in southwest Georgia in August 1864 and provides its military and political context. Wood underscores the agony of the Andersonville prison camp and highlights a huge but little-known cavalry foray ordered by General Sherman as he laid siege to Atlanta. Homer’s image takes viewers “behind enemy lines” to consider the utter failure of “Stoneman’s Raid” from the perspective of an enslaved black Southerner.

By examining the interplay of symbolic elements, Wood reveals a picture pregnant with meaning. He links it to Abraham Lincoln’s presidential campaign of 1864 and underscores the enduring importance of Homer’s thoughtful black woman. The painter adopted a bottom-up perspective on slavery and emancipation that most scholars needed another century to discover. By integrating art and history, Wood’s provocative study gives us a fresh vantage point on Homer’s early career, the struggle to end slavery, and the dramatic closing years of the Civil War.

(20101209)

Genres: Art

152 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2010

About the author

I have always been interested in early American history and in the interactions of diverse cultures. My undergraduate honors paper at Harvard in 1964 dealt with the Puritans' relations with the Indians, and my doctoral thesis there focused on African Americans in South Carolina before 1740. Since coming to Duke in 1975, I have taught Colonial American History and Native American History, as well as a course on the History of Documentary Film. Long term interests in race relations and in American painting led me to collaborate with art historian Karen Dalton in 1988 on an exhibition and a related book concerning Winslow Homer's images of Blacks. Time spent as the department's Director of Graduate Studies (1988-95) and as one of the professors in the U.S. Survey class (History 91D) has made me increasingly interested in the ways we learn and teach American history. Perhaps for this reason, I have always been actively involved as a humanities advisor on diverse public history projects and as a board member with a variety of grassroots organizations and mainstream institutions. I am a lead author for the US survey textbook, Created Equal, which is now in its second edition.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Winslow Homer himself was half amused, half disgusted, one suspects, by this fantasy of an artist strewing meanings all over his canvas like God strewing the stars across the heavens. Like a lesser god he knew his own frailty. Or like a woman standing in a doorway, watching the prisoners march.”

Complete review at:
https://themuseyroom.substack.com/p/t...

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading about the Civil War and American artists. This book covers both very well. Near Andersonville is a remarkable painting. It has a story to tell and should be allowed to tell its story for decades to come.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

this small book is about a painting that was lost and found in an attic and discovered to be by winslow homer. a black woman stands in a doorway pensive, central, hesitant. and to her side in the distance confederate soldiers marching a group of union soldiers to ANDERSONVILLE prison. the interpretations are soul searching. art can and does tell us a lot about ourselves and the societies we live in; this painting will have an impact, even today. pensive, central, hesitant...........

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick interesting book delving into the history and iconography of one of Homer's paintings of the civil war. I like his style and will read his other books on Winslow Homer.

[Sarah Swedberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent historical analysis of a painting from one of the leading scholars of African American history. You will learn about the Civil War, and about Homer. I now want to go see a Homer exhibit.

[Justangie88 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The woman in this painting, and the painting itself, has stood in the shadows for over a century. I'm glad Peter H. Wood brought them to the forefront.