Artwork
The Return of the Gleaner
The Return of the Gleaner is an oil painting by the Realist artist Winslow Homer. It dates from 1867 and is held in the collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
About this work
Overview
Winslow Homer painted *The Return of the Gleaner* in 1867 with oil on canvas. The work belongs to the Realist tradition of mid‑19th‑century American art and is part of the collection at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas presents a solitary woman in a rural field, her posture upright and her gaze directed forward. She holds a curved gathering tool over her shoulder, suggesting the act of gleaning after a harvest. The composition emphasizes her self‑assurance amid the expansive, golden grass and scattered red blossoms.
Technique & Style
Homer employs a restrained palette of muted sky tones and warm earth colors, rendering the cloudy atmosphere with soft, blended brushwork. The figure is delineated with clear, confident strokes, while the surrounding vegetation is suggested through looser, textured applications that convey movement and light.
History & Provenance
After beginning his career as a commercial illustrator, Homer turned to oil painting in the 1860s, producing works that focused on everyday American life. *The Return of the Gleaner* entered the Crystal Bridges Museum’s holdings, where it remains on display as an example of his early realist period.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects.
Museum
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Continue through works from the same source collection.
