Waiting for a Call on New Year's Day 1869

Here we see Winslow Homer's wood engraving "Waiting for a Call on New Year's Day," crafted in 1868 for *Harper's Bazaar*. The women's fashionable dresses serve as a rich tapestry of cultural expectation. Note how their posture, in groups gazing out of the window, represents anticipation and societal expectations placed on women. This yearning for connection through the window finds echoes in Caspar David Friedrich’s figures contemplating nature, yet here, nature is replaced by societal expectation. Consider the window itself, a recurring symbol throughout art history: from Renaissance Annunciations to Dutch Golden Age interiors, a window divides interior from exterior, known from unknown, private from public. Here, the women peer into the unknown future, seeking validation and connection. This emotional tension is a powerful force, engaging viewers on a deep, subconscious level. It speaks to our shared human experience of longing and the weight of cultural norms. It is a powerful force that resonates across eras.