LAUSR

A bright ray of sun shines down on three African American men dozing against their tent. One more man sticks his head into the outside, hovering over them, and looks straight back at the viewer. We're transported to 1865 toward the end of the American Civil War, between battles. These men are Union Army teamsters, wagon masters, the drivers of teams of animals, taking a rest from their hard labor. Behind them, their horses do the same. The painting is by celebrated American artist Winslow Homer, who in his early years shaped the North's way of seeing life on the battlefield. Winslow Homer was a self-taught artist born in Boston in 1836. Before achieving fame as an artist, he worked for Harper's Weekly. By the 1860s, at the height of the Civil War, photography was not yet widely used, and the only option to “see” what life was like on the front was to employ artists. Homer was one of about 30 artistreporters during thewar, who together produced about 6000 images, making the Civil War America's most illustrated battle. Artist-reporters were chosen for their skill in drawing, but also for their ability to conjure a scene. The images that they created had to be able to tell a story within themselves. Homer saw himself as one of the infantry; he grew his mustache and beard like the rest of them, and he underwent many of the same struggles and deprivations. Through his grueling experience and hard labor, Homer developed a distinctive style that set him apart from his contemporaries. This painting is exemplary of his work in the 1860s—he used delicate,