Thanksgiving in Camp, 1862 : Winslow Homer: Thanksgiving Art: Wood Engraving

Thanksgiving in Camp, 1862-Winslow Homer

Thanksgiving in Camp is a wood engraving by Winslow Homer done while at the front lines of the American Civil War. He drew scenes of the war from 1861-1865 for Harper's. This work reminds us that people are sometimes at war on Thanksgiving Day.

Homer is a celebrated American artist of the 19th century. The image is in the public domain in the U.S.A.




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History of Thanksgiving and Pictures to Draw

 "The Pilgrim Fathers incorporated an early thanksgiving day among  moral influences... it blessed and beautified the homes it reached."

Sarah Josepha Hale, 1865

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together."

Edward Winslow, 1621

Thanksgiving, originally celebrated in 1621, is hot on our heels; the Wampanoag Indians and the colonists at Plymouth ate a meal of thanksgiving. It was an English tradition to commemorate a bountiful fall harvest. They acknowledged God during this banquet for blessing them. Massassoit, Squanto, and Samoset were Indian chiefs that attended the festivity. The celebration lasted 3 days.

The colonies generally had a special day or days for thanksgiving; this time of thanksgiving wasn't the same for each colony. These times were marked with people fasting and saying prayers. Thanksgiving for good crops, a colony subscribing to a state constitution, and military triumphs were celebrated.

• In 1671, the governing body of Charlestown, Massachusetts decreed the 29th of June as a special day to give thanks. It was the first officially registered Thanksgiving.
• On the 3rd of  October of  1789, George Washington endorsed a proclamation dubbed General Thanksgiving. He said it was a day of publick  thanksgiving and prayer.  This was the first time it was proclaimed since the constitution was in force.
• In 1863, President Lincoln set forth the 4th Tuesday in November as the day of  Thanksgiving.
• In 1777, all of the colonies observed a thanksgiving to rejoice and commemorate the British surrendering to the colonies during the Revolutionary War. 

Sarah Josepha Hale advocated for an annual day set aside as an official national Thanksgiving Day. She continued her campaign of 30 years, and requested of each president to adopt a particular date because the official recognition was done by states; the federal government didn't hold a national observance, even though Washington had made his proclamation. Hale was the editor for Godley's Lady's Book. Her efforts paid off when Lincoln set a national observance, and it remained the national official day proclaimed by succeeding presidents. Congress declared it a national holiday in 1941.

So what has this got to do with art? Well, many artists have produced Thanksgiving art, and it is a good thing to know history, and why we celebrate Thanksgiving, which inspires the art. Your children may enjoy making some Thanksgiving drawings.

You may be interested in this article: Thanksgiving: Norman Rockwell
 
Drawing Sites

• How-to draw Thanksgiving turkey and pilgrim girl
• Pumpkin Drawing Lesson: Highlights & Shadow

Amazon

How to Draw Thanksgiving Things (Doodle Books)

How to Draw Thanksgiving Symbols (A Kid's Guide to Drawing)

How To Draw A Pumpkin In Six Easy Steps

Thanksgiving: Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell was a well known American illustrated. He painted numerous Thanksgiving paintings. The most acclaimed Thanksgiving illustrations he created are The Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom From Want, and Freedom From Fear. Rockwell desired to do something patriotic concerning World War II and couldn't serve in the armed forces because of his age. He was enkindled to create these paintings because of President Franklin Roosevelt's speech also called The Four Freedoms. The President said these were the principles for universal rights.

These paintings were published by the Saturday Evening Post on 02/20/43, 02/27/43, 03/06/43, and 03/13/43 respectively. Each print of a painting in the magazine had an attendant essay. The author's of these essays in order were: Booth Tarkington, Will Durant, Carlos Bulosan, and Stephen Vincent Benét.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury urged the sale of war bonds by showing originals of The Four Freedoms in many U.S. cities. The title of this exhibition was The Four Freedoms War Bond Show. This tour began at Hecht's, which was located in Washington, D.C., where it was transmitted over radio; Lowell Thomas was the broadcaster. Justice William O. Douglas of the Supreme Court was the principal speaker.

The publics response was astounding and proved that the paintings stimulated the feelings of the American people about freedom. This reaction encouraged The Office of War Information to see the effect of the paintings in conveying ideas and emotions concerning freedom. The public wrote 60,000 letters to the artist, which included a letter from the President. Over a million people saw the paintings during the tour. The war years were reduced by the numerous amount of war bonds sold during this tour.

Thus, though they had originally rejected these art works, OWI then had 2.5 million copies printed. The copies were all attended by an essay from The Office of War Information.

Norman Rockwell The Four Freedoms 750pc Panoramic Puzzle The Saturday Evening Post-1943
Freedom of Speech by Norman Rockwell Art Print(1938 / 1978) , 8.3/4 X 11.1/4 inches
2008 Topps American Heritage Baseball Cards # 66 Norman Rockwell ( Four Freedoms )( Artist ) Trading Card in Protective Screw Down Display

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