Painted soon after Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865—and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination five days later—Homer’s canvas depicts an emblematic farmer, revealed to be a Union veteran by his discarded jacket and canteen at lower right. His old-fashioned scythe evokes the Grim Reaper, recalling the Civil War’s harvest of death, culminating in Lincoln’s murder. The bountiful wheat—a Northern crop—may connote the Union’s victory and a redemptive future - or it may be a reference to the concept of swords to plowshares in Isaiah 2:3–4:

Many peoples shall come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth instruction and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Referring to both death and life, Homer’s iconic composition offers a powerful meditation on America’s sacrifices and its potential for recovery and reconciliation.

Museum-quality posters made on thick and durable matte paper. Add a wonderful accent to your room and office with these posters that are sure to brighten any environment.

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection

Title: The Veteran in a New Field
Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
Date: 1865
Culture: American
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original dimensions: 24 1/8 x 38 1/8in. (61.3 x 96.8cm)
Framed: 37 3/8 × 51 1/4 × 5 1/4 in. (94.9 × 130.2 × 13.3 cm)

• Ayous wood .75″ (1.9 cm) thick frame from renewable forests
• Paper thickness: 10.3 mil (0.26 mm)
• Paper weight: 189 g/m²
• Lightweight
• Acrylite front protector
• Hanging hardware included
• Blank product components sourced from Japan and the US