Homeward Bound (New York) 1855 - 1865

Curator: There's a tangible pensiveness radiating from this print. It's called "Homeward Bound (New York)", dating to sometime between 1855 and 1865 by Erskine Nicol, presently residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s crafted with colored pencil. Editor: It feels so wistful. He's got his hand to his face in such a melancholic pose; almost like he regrets this… exodus? What does "Homeward Bound" even signify here? Curator: Well, the sign behind him reads "To Emigrants Returning, New York to Dublin." It alludes to Irish immigrants returning to their homeland after perhaps not finding what they sought in America. It captures the push and pull, the complexities of the immigrant experience. The sign itself – the ships listed: the "Sarque," "Washington," these would have held particular meaning to someone seeing this image then. They represent options, and routes, but also hard decisions made in hard times. Editor: And that expression! You can see the uncertainty etched on his face, a sort of silent questioning of the whole venture. The city exists almost as a ghost in the background. Is he leaving a failed dream? Curator: Perhaps not a failure, but a re-evaluation. Observe how Nicol has used the materiality to subtly suggest shifting sands. The print’s gentle coloring – it contributes to the mood of transient impermanence. Look at the lines – they are not harsh but rather smudged, suggestive of memory perhaps, or the fading of hopes once so vibrant. Editor: And he’s not the typical starving immigrant that comes to mind. His clothes, while maybe a little worn, show a level of… respectability, shall we say? It really gets you thinking about what it must have been like, torn between two worlds. There's something almost haunting in its simplicity, in this lone figure and his inner debate. Curator: Absolutely. And the placement of the sign practically above his head suggests not only a physical destination, but an idea weighing heavily on his mind – the concept of 'home', what constitutes it, the allure and the reality, a truly potent image that manages to encapsulate so much. Editor: Right, it makes one wonder, does home reside in a place or perhaps only in our minds? This picture is definitely thought-provoking and poignant, I am very grateful for that moment of pause. Curator: A pertinent pondering, exactly! It truly causes one to consider one's path.