ticketsMember | Make a donation

Weaning the Calf

Winslow Homer American
1875
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
A rare image in Homer’s art of Black and White　children together, Weaning the Calf reveals his ongoing interest in evolving race relations following the Civil War. A Black youth attempts to lead a reluctant calf away from its mother, visible in the distance, as two White boys look on. Homer’s composition enhances the scene’s inherent tension, juxtaposing effort with inactivity, tattered clothing against tidy appearances. The theme of a child attempting to subdue an unruly animal aligns with the artist’s many images of humans in conflict with nature across his career. In depicting a Black protagonist, Homer invites us to consider the youth’s agency and self-determination during the era of Reconstruction.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Weaning the Calf
  • Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
  • Date: 1875
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 24 1/8 x 38 1/4 in. (61.3 x 97.2 cm)
    Framed: 36 x 49 3/4 x 4 1/4 in. (91.4 x 126.4 x 10.8 cm)
  • Credit Line: North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Purchased with funds from the State of North Carolina (52.9.16)
  • Rights and Reproduction: North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, USA, purchased with funds from the State of North Carolina/Bridgeman Images
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing