Sketch of a Cottage Yard c. 1876

Winslow Homer made this sketch of a cottage yard with oil on board at an unknown date. It depicts a scene of African Americans outside a rustic cottage, sunflowers in bloom around them. Homer’s work from the 1870s and 80s often depicted rural life in the United States. But what is the public role of such images in a time of reconstruction after the Civil War? Here, the artist paints an intimate scene, seemingly without political commentary. But we should consider the politics of imagery, what it means to represent this community. The image creates meaning through visual codes and cultural references. The sunflowers could suggest growth and optimism, but their presence could also just be incidental. To understand the art and its moment, we need to examine the social conditions that shape artistic production and reception, looking to historical archives, correspondence, and journalistic accounts. The meaning of art is always contingent on social and institutional context.