Is there a political message behind this image of two farmers settling the price of a horse?
Realism in the United States
Painted for a divided US, people from North and South could identify with this image—others remain marginalized.
Richard Caton Woodville, War News from Mexico
This snowy image of a bygone Brooklyn is sprinkled with farm animals, townspeople... and casual racism.
Francis Guy, Winter Scene in Brooklyn
The artist eliminated a key element of this innovative painting five years after he finished it.
Winslow Homer, Northeaster
Suspended above the sea, the drama of this rescue scene comes from nature, not man.
Winslow Homer, The Life Line
Homer’s fisherman just wants to bring his halibut safely to his ship—but as usual, nature is ruining everything.
Winslow Homer, The Fog Warning (or Halibut ...
In order to capture the beauty of America’s national parks, Brown faced the prejudices of the lawless West.
Grafton Tyler Brown, View of the Lower ...
Men in suits cut open a leg while their teacher holds a bloody, gloveless hand aloft. Gross indeed.
Thomas Eakins, The Gross Clinic
Eakins’ serene river scene celebrates a personal friend as well as an interest in masculine athleticism.
Thomas Eakins, The Champion Single Sculls (Max ...
Johnson’s moving painting of a family fleeing slavery places the courage of African-Americans center stage.