Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Winslow Homer Estate
Doll & Richards, Boston, Massachusetts
The Malden Public Library, Malden, Massachusetts, February 14, 1912
Christie's, New York, New York, May 26, 1994, lot 19
Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1994
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Winslow Homer
(American, 1836–1910)
The Whittling Boy
1873
Oil on canvas
Image: 15 3/4 x 22 11/16 in. (40.0 x 57.6 cm)
Frame: 22 1/8 x 29 1/16 in. (56.2 x 73.8 cm)
Frame: 22 1/8 x 29 1/16 in. (56.2 x 73.8 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1994.12
SignedLower right: HOMER 1873
InterpretationWinslow Homer’s The Whittling Boy presents an idyll of rural childhood: a youth, casually seated on a fallen log in a sunny clearing, absorbed in an idle pastime. The close-up view shows the boy ensconced in his sun-dappled natural surroundings as he focuses his attention on his whittling (paring wood with a knife); the wide-brimmed straw hat shading his face casts his unseen features in shadow and suggests his lack of awareness of the viewer’s presence. The confined aspect of the setting, in which the horizon is crowded out of the composition, further suggests the innocent self-absorption of youth and the wholesome unselfconsciousness of a childhood in nature. The theme of rural youth, with which Homer was preoccupied throughout the 1870s, grew out of his own childhood ramblings in the countryside surrounding his native Cambridge, Massachusetts. The subject was also a popular one among Homer’s artistic contemporaries, as Americans looked to rural life and childhood as metaphors for hope and healing in the wake of the Civil War. As an image of childhood contentment, The Whittling Boy contrasts significantly with Homer’s earlier On Guard (TF 1994.11), also in the Terra Foundation Collection, in which a similar youthful figure, subtly presented as caught up in the conflict, embodies arrested innocence.
Winslow Homer Estate
Doll & Richards, Boston, Massachusetts
The Malden Public Library, Malden, Massachusetts, February 14, 1912
Christie's, New York, New York, May 26, 1994, lot 19
Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1994
Exhibition History
Doll & Richards Exhibition of Oils from the Studio/Estate of Winslow Homer, Boston, Massachusetts, February 1912.
Winslow Homer, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York (organizer). Venues: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, April 3–June 3, 1973; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, July 3–August 15, 1973; The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, September 8–October 21, 1973. [exh. cat.]
Un regard sur Winslow Homer (Winslow Homer at a Glance), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 1995.
Collection Cameo companion piece, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 1996.
Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1996–January 12, 1997.
The Tenth Street Studio Building: Artist-Entrepreneurs from the Hudson River School to the American Impressionists, The Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, New York (organizer). Venues: The Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, New York, June 8–August 10, 1997; National Academy, Museum and School of Fine Arts, New York, New York, August 21–November 16, 1997. [exh. cat.]
Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920 (The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 15, 1999; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, December 10, 1999–May 7, 2000 (in modified form). [exh. cat.]
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–July 1, 2001.
D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny) Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.
A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003.
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts (Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 2–June 1, 2003. [exh. cat.]
Copley to Cassatt: Masterworks from the Terra Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, and Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, September 5–December 7, 2003.
Expanded Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 15, 2005–February 2008.
Watercolors by Winslow Homer: The Color of Light, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, February 16–May 11, 2008. [exh. cat.]
Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, June 2008–present.
Winslow Homer, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York (organizer). Venues: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, April 3–June 3, 1973; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, July 3–August 15, 1973; The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, September 8–October 21, 1973. [exh. cat.]
Un regard sur Winslow Homer (Winslow Homer at a Glance), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 1995.
Collection Cameo companion piece, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 1996.
Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1996–January 12, 1997.
The Tenth Street Studio Building: Artist-Entrepreneurs from the Hudson River School to the American Impressionists, The Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, New York (organizer). Venues: The Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, New York, June 8–August 10, 1997; National Academy, Museum and School of Fine Arts, New York, New York, August 21–November 16, 1997. [exh. cat.]
Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920 (The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 15, 1999; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, December 10, 1999–May 7, 2000 (in modified form). [exh. cat.]
Selections from the Permanent Collection: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–July 1, 2001.
D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny) Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.
A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003.
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts (Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of Arts), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 2–June 1, 2003. [exh. cat.]
Copley to Cassatt: Masterworks from the Terra Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, and Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, September 5–December 7, 2003.
Expanded Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 15, 2005–February 2008.
Watercolors by Winslow Homer: The Color of Light, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, February 16–May 11, 2008. [exh. cat.]
Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, June 2008–present.
Goodrich, Lloyd. Winslow Homer. (exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art). New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1973. Text p. 137 (checklist); ill. p. 68 (black & white).
“News and Notes: Discoveries and Thefts.” ARLIS/NA Newsletter 3, no. 6 (October 1975): 121. Text p. 121.
“News and Notes: Lost and Found.” ARLIS/NA Newsletter 4, no. 2 (February 1976): 64. Text p. 64.
Hendricks, Gordon. The Life and Works of Winslow Homer. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1979. Text p. 113; ill. p. 298, CL-279 (black & white).
Christie's, New York, New York (Sale ANNABELLE-7894, May 26, 1994): lot 19. Text p. 30, lot 19; ill. p. 31.
Berman, Ann E. "American Paintings." Art & Auction 17:2 (September 1994): 80–81. Text p. 81; ill. p. 81 (black & white).
Blaugrund, Annette. The Tenth Street Studio Building. (exh. cat., Parrish Art Museum). Southampton, New York: Parrish Art Museum, 1997. Text pp. 91, 138 (checklist); ill. p. 96, fig. 54 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text p. 24 (checklist); ill. p. 45 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text p. 24 (checklist); ill. p. 45 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick. "The City and Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920." American Art Review 7:1 (January-February 2000): 100–11. Ill. p. 104 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text p. 88; ill. p. 88 (black & white).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text p. 88; ill. p. 88 (black & white).
Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of the Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 22 (checklist).
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 22 (checklist).
Goodrich, Lloyd and Abigail Booth Gerdts. Record of Works by Winslow Homer. Vol. 2, 1867 through 1876. New York: Spanierman Gallery, LLC, 2005. Text p. 213, no. 432; ill. p. 213, no. 432 (black & white).
Tedeschi, Martha with Kristi Dahm. Watercolors by Winslow Homer: The Color of Light. (exh. cat., The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois). Chicago, Illinois: The Art Institute of Chicago, 2008. Text pp. 37–38; ill. p. 39, fig. 4 (color).
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Hartford, Connecticut: American Publishing Company, 1876. Reprinted with an introduction and notes by Peter Stoneley, Oxford’s World Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Ill. on 2008 edition cover (color, detail).
Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text pp. 106, 107; ill. p. 107, detail pp. 108-109 (color).
“News and Notes: Discoveries and Thefts.” ARLIS/NA Newsletter 3, no. 6 (October 1975): 121. Text p. 121.
“News and Notes: Lost and Found.” ARLIS/NA Newsletter 4, no. 2 (February 1976): 64. Text p. 64.
Hendricks, Gordon. The Life and Works of Winslow Homer. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1979. Text p. 113; ill. p. 298, CL-279 (black & white).
Christie's, New York, New York (Sale ANNABELLE-7894, May 26, 1994): lot 19. Text p. 30, lot 19; ill. p. 31.
Berman, Ann E. "American Paintings." Art & Auction 17:2 (September 1994): 80–81. Text p. 81; ill. p. 81 (black & white).
Blaugrund, Annette. The Tenth Street Studio Building. (exh. cat., Parrish Art Museum). Southampton, New York: Parrish Art Museum, 1997. Text pp. 91, 138 (checklist); ill. p. 96, fig. 54 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text p. 24 (checklist); ill. p. 45 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1999. Text p. 24 (checklist); ill. p. 45 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick. "The City and Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920." American Art Review 7:1 (January-February 2000): 100–11. Ill. p. 104 (color).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text p. 88; ill. p. 88 (black & white).
Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text p. 88; ill. p. 88 (black & white).
Side by Side: Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Detroit Institute of the Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 22 (checklist).
Deux collections en regard: oeuvres de la Terra Foundation for the Arts et du Detroit Institute of Arts. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text p. 22 (checklist).
Goodrich, Lloyd and Abigail Booth Gerdts. Record of Works by Winslow Homer. Vol. 2, 1867 through 1876. New York: Spanierman Gallery, LLC, 2005. Text p. 213, no. 432; ill. p. 213, no. 432 (black & white).
Tedeschi, Martha with Kristi Dahm. Watercolors by Winslow Homer: The Color of Light. (exh. cat., The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois). Chicago, Illinois: The Art Institute of Chicago, 2008. Text pp. 37–38; ill. p. 39, fig. 4 (color).
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Hartford, Connecticut: American Publishing Company, 1876. Reprinted with an introduction and notes by Peter Stoneley, Oxford’s World Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Ill. on 2008 edition cover (color, detail).
Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text pp. 106, 107; ill. p. 107, detail pp. 108-109 (color).