Gloucester Harbor (from "Harper's Weekly," Vol. XVII) 1873

Editor: Winslow Homer's "Gloucester Harbor" from 1873, an etching featured in Harper's Weekly, captures a tranquil scene of boys in a rowboat. There is a serene atmosphere to it. I’m curious, what do you see in this piece? Curator: This image, appearing in a widely circulated publication, served a specific socio-political purpose. "Harper's Weekly," was extremely influential in shaping public opinion. Consider this image as constructing a particular vision of American life. How does it participate in nation-building and shape ideas about American identity? Editor: It feels pretty everyday. It depicts an accessible and understandable snapshot of what folks were doing on a leisure day, no? Curator: Exactly! Leisure wasn’t necessarily widely enjoyed or available to the working class. Images like this offered a visual script for an idealized American experience accessible through leisure. Did everyone get this experience? I’d encourage you to ask about who *doesn't* appear. How is this image selective and perhaps exclusionary? Editor: It is pretty whitewashed! There's definitely a specific narrative being presented. This puts into context just how potent visual media really is! Curator: Indeed. Artworks are almost never just aesthetic objects, they're cultural agents operating in networks of power. I'm glad that by dissecting the image’s history we're gaining a new appreciation of how it communicates ideologically. Editor: I am too. This helps me think about not just what's *in* the frame but also what's *left out.*