Two of Sheridan's Scouts
1865 Metropolitan Museum of Art
About this artwork
This graphite drawing on paper depicts two Union scouts on horseback, executed during the final stages of the American Civil War near Petersburg, Virginia. The work is signed and includes an inscription by the artist at the bottom.
Did you know?
Winslow Homer spent significant time during the American Civil War observing life at the front, not as a soldier but as a correspondent and artist for Harper's Weekly. His sketches provided the public with an intimate, unromanticized look at the daily experiences of soldiers, shifting away from the heroic depictions common in art at the time. The scouts depicted here were part of General Philip Sheridan's cavalry, which played a decisive role in the final campaigns leading to the surrender of the Confederate Army.
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Two of Sheridan's Scouts
Winslow Homer, 1865
