The Veteran in a New Field is a mid 19th-century painting by American artist Winslow Homer. Done in oil on canvas, the painting depicts a farmer harvesting wheat in a field. Painted during the concluding year of the American Civil War, the painting is set in the conflict's aftermath and embodies the postwar demilitarization of American society.
The Veteran in a New Field | |
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Artist | Winslow Homer |
Year | 1865 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 61.3 cm × 96.8 cm (24.1 in × 38.1 in) |
Location | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City |
Accession | 67.187.131 |
Veteran was painted by Homer in 1865, the concluding year of the American Civil War.[1] The titular veteran is seen harvesting stalks of wheat with a scythe—a possible representation of the large loss of life during the recent conflict. Homer's inclusion of wheat - a pronouncedly Northern crop - may symbolize the Union victory over the South.[2] As noted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the veteran can be identified as a former Union soldier by his discarded jacket and canteen in the right foreground of the painting.[3][4]
Homer sold the painting in 1866. The painting was eventually donated to the Met as part of the bequest of Adelaide Milton de Groot in 1967.[3]
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