White Marec. 1868 · Study 1958.33

Context from the museum

In August 1868 Winslow Homer, then working as a free-lance illustrator, visited the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As early as the 1820s, American artists used the White Mountains as a setting for landscape paintings. Unlike Thomas Cole (1802-1848) and Asher Durand (1796-1886), who focused on the unspoiled wilderness, Homer turned his attention to other tourists. He made this oil sketch as a study for the horse in a large oil painting The Bridal Path, White Mountains (1868; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts).

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for White Mare is 32.6 cm wide and 20 cm high, equivalent to approximately 12.8 × 7.9 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.63:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.07 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 10.9% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 133.7 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With White Mare in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on panel, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 32.6 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?