Description
In August 1868 Winslow Homer, then working as a free-lance illustrator, visited the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As early as the 1820s, American artists used the White Mountains as a setting for landscape paintings. Unlike Thomas Cole (1802-1848) and Asher Durand (1796-1886), who focused on the unspoiled wilderness, Homer turned his attention to other tourists. He made this oil sketch as a study for the horse in a large oil painting The Bridal Path, White Mountains (1868; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts).
Provenance
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg (purchased from the artist); (Valentine Gallery, New York, 12 January 1942); Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.
Accession Number
1958.33
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
Framed: 32.5 x 45 x 4.5 cm (12 13/16 x 17 11/16 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 20 x 32.6 cm (7 7/8 x 12 13/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
Tags
Painting Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Oil Painting Panel Painting American Color: Brown Color: Gray
Background & Context
Background Story
White Mare (c. 1868) is an early work depicting a white horse—a subject that allows Homer to demonstrate his ability to render animal form with the same attention he brought to human figures. The white mare, as a subject, connects to the broader 19th-century American tradition of animal painting that included Trotter, Stubbs-influenced equestrian art, and the working animal subjects that were common in genre painting. Homer's treatment of the white mare likely emphasizes the animal's physical presence—its mass, its coat's reflective quality, and its characteristic equine behavior—rather than the picturesque qualities that more conventional animal painters exploited. The year 1868 places this during Homer's formative period, when he was developing the skills that would carry him from Civil War illustration to mature genre painting. The white mare's coat—reflective and subtle, requiring careful tonal handling to suggest the animal's form beneath its light-colored hair—provided Homer with a technical challenge that would serve his later work. The horse as subject also connects Homer to the American equine tradition—horses were essential to 19th-century American transportation, agriculture, and warfare—and his treatment honors this practical relationship rather than merely celebrating the horse's beauty.
Cultural Impact
Homer's animal paintings influenced the American tradition of animal subject art by introducing a directness and physicality that distinguished his work from more sentimental or decorative treatments. The white mare subject influenced how horses were represented in American art, establishing a model of attentive observation that influenced later American animal painters. The painting also influenced Homer's own later work, demonstrating his ability to render animal form convincingly—a skill that would serve his hunting and sporting subjects.
Why It Matters
This painting matters because it demonstrates Homer's ability to serve any subject with the same attentive directness. The white mare receives the same careful observation as a fisherman or a wave—Homer's art does not discriminate between subject categories but applies the same perceptual rigor to everything it addresses. This consistency of attention, rather than any specific subject, is what defines Homer's achievement.
