The Straw Ride 1869

Winslow Homer made this wood engraving, *The Straw Ride*, for *Harper's Bazaar*, a popular magazine, in the late 19th century. Homer was working in the relatively new field of commercial art, where images were quickly and efficiently reproduced for mass consumption. Wood engraving was a perfect medium for this, allowing for detailed images to be printed alongside text. The process involved carving an image into a block of wood, inking it, and then pressing it onto paper. The lines you see are the result of the engraver's tools, each carefully placed to create light and shadow. The subject matter here, a group of well-dressed people enjoying a leisurely ride, speaks to the rise of a middle class with disposable income and time for recreation. The very existence of *Harper's Bazaar* and the demand for images like this, are directly tied to the growth of industrial capitalism and a consumer culture. Looking at the social context in which *The Straw Ride* was made helps us understand its full meaning and its connection to broader social issues of labor, politics, and consumption.