A Temperance Meeting
1874 Philadelphia Museum of Art
About this artwork
This oil on canvas painting depicts a young farm couple pausing in a pastoral landscape, with the man carrying a scythe over his shoulder and the woman holding a bucket. The work is part of the collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Did you know?
While the title suggests a 'Temperance Meeting,' there is no obvious indication of organized political activity in the scene, leading historians to believe the title might be an ironic commentary on the courtship of the couple. Homer often used such ambiguous titles for his rural genre paintings to invite viewers to invent their own narratives about the interpersonal dynamics between his figures.
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A Temperance Meeting
Winslow Homer, 1874
