"Come" (The Galaxy, An Illustrated Magazine of Entertaining Reading, Vol. VIII) 1869

Winslow Homer created this wood engraving, "Come," for The Galaxy magazine, a publication that reflected the social landscape of post-Civil War America. This image encapsulates the subtleties of courtship and societal expectations of gender and class during that era. We see a woman inside what appears to be a carriage, her back turned to us, as she peers out at a man waving a handkerchief. Consider the gaze, the negotiation of visibility and invitation. The man, dressed in formal attire, beckons her, while other men stand passively in the background. Homer’s choice to depict this interaction frames the woman’s agency, or perhaps her constrained agency, within the rituals of upper-class social life. The title, "Come," carries a weight of expectation and perhaps a subtle tension. Is it an invitation, a command, or a plea? This work reflects the intricate dance of social mores and personal desire of the time.