Winslow Homer

American, 1836-1910

Croquet Players, 1865

oil on canvas

support: 16 x 26 inches (40.64 x 66.04 cm); framed: 24 5/8 x 34 7/8 x 3 1/8 inches (62.55 x 88.58 x 7.94 cm)

Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York

Charles Clifton and James G. Forsyth Funds, 1941

1941:11

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Inscriptions

signature, dated / front, lower left / W. Homer 65

inscription / frame back / Clarence Stephens 1893

Provenance

collection Clarence Stephens (died 1920), St. James Place, Brooklyn and Pittsfield, MA, 1893-1920 [no known previous owners, per M. Knoedler & Co.];
bequeathed to his son John U. Stephens, 1920;
sold to Robert W. Modaff, 154 East 61st Street, New York, NY, 1940;
sold toKnoedler & Co., 14 East 57th Street, New York, NY, 1940;
sold to Albright Art Gallery, December 12, 1941

Class

Paintings

Work Type

Oil painting

This information may change due to ongoing research. Glossary of Terms

Between 1865 and 1870, Winslow Homer made five paintings centered on the theme of croquet; this work is the earliest example. A cheerful scene set in the countryside, Croquet Players is emblematic of post–Civil War American genre painting. Homer served during the war as a battlefront correspondent and illustrator for Harper’s Weekly. Afterward he dedicated much of the rest of his career to creating affecting images of everyday American life that reflect nostalgia for simpler times. The game of croquet was introduced in the United States around the early 1860s and quickly gained popularity as an outdoor recreational activity in which both men and women could equally participate. Homer was attracted to the game’s ability to bring people together. Known to be a bit of a dandy, he also may have been drawn to the game as a platform for showcasing the fashions of the day. In both technique and iconography, Homer’s work from this time seems to parallel some of the modern trends in European painting, most notably the work of the Impressionists, who shared Homer’s use of sunlight and a high-keyed color palette.