Day's Peaceful Ending 1887

Henry Pruett Share created this etching, "Day's Peaceful Ending," sometime during his career. Share was part of a generation of American artists who explored printmaking as a means of artistic expression, and to make art accessible to a wider audience. The image depicts a shepherd and shepherdess guiding their flock home at dusk, evoking a sense of tranquility, but it also operates within a complex historical context. The late 19th century saw increasing urbanization, which led to a longing for simpler, pastoral life. The figures in the foreground are idealized, their presence lending a sense of nostalgia for rural life. While it romanticizes labor, it does not address the harsh realities of rural life and labor at the time. Ultimately, "Day's Peaceful Ending," invites us to consider how we idealize certain ways of life, and what realities are obscured in those idealizations.