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Winslow Homer Civil War Double Folio Engraving

"The War For The Union, 1862 - A Cavalry Charge"

This is one of the two great double size battle prints produced by Winslow Homer during the Civil War. This print published on July 5, 1862 as the double page centerfold in Harper's Weekly is entitled, "The War For The Union, 1862 - A Cavalry Charge." Winslow Homer experts recognize it as one of Homer's better Civil War works.

"Echo Of A Distant Drum: Winslow Homer and the Civil War" by Julian Grossman (New York, 1974) devotes two full pages to the engraving picture and text. After commenting upon the quintessential "war horse" pictured in the engraving, the author has this to say about the engraving:

Within this tapestry-like Cavalry Charge the action is particularly intense in the lower right-hand corner. A look of fright passes over the face of the fallen soldier, but unknown to him his life is being guarded by a determined comrade on horseback who protective saber is about to strike the threatening enemy.

As image of war, Homer's Cavalry Charge and Bayonet Charge concentrate on heroic deeds, gallantry, and courage in the face of death, not on death itself. Excellent propaganda, these two illustration of all-out warfare celebrate the Union cause - only brave Union soldiers fill the picture frame.

Below is part of the action in the lower right-hand corner described above.

In "Winslow Homer's Magazine Engravings," Philip C. Beam, New York, 1979, the author simply says that A Cavalry Charge and A Bayonet Charge "are among his masterpieces of the fray" and Gordon Hendricks in "The Life and Work of Winslow Homer" describes them as "remarkable, easily the best of any Harper's Civil War action illustrations."

Below is a picture of the print as it will come to you matted and enclosed in a protective plastic sleeve. There is some evidence of the centerfold and two small holes on the fold but they are barely noticeable from normal viewing distance.

Price: $125/SOLD