The Dinner Horn (Blowing the Horn at Seaside)
1870
Painter, American, 1836 - 1910

Standing in the brilliant sunlight of midday, a young woman blows a metal horn to summon the farmhands in the nearby field to their noontime meal. Her feet rest at the end of a well-trod path, suggesting the repetitive nature of this task. A strong gust of wind blows across the foreground from the right, evidenced by Winslow Homer’s skillful depiction of the young woman’s raised, twisting skirt and floating dress strings. Only a narrow corner of the wooden structure to her left can be seen, revealing weathered wooden siding and the edge of a window frame. Thin vines studded with leaves and thorns climb the wall. Below, two potted plants and an overturned metal milk jug form a small still life.
Downhill from the wind-swept figure, a cluster of chickens and a cow are visible in the verdant middle ground. Further in the distance this grassy stretch turns golden brown, suggesting a field of harvested hay. On the far right edge of the field sits a domed haystack. A handful of men in bright shirts are at work nearby, one of whom maneuvers what appears to be a horse-drawn hay mower.
The Dinner Horn is the first in a series of works by Homer from the early 1870s that feature the trumpeting figure of a young woman. It is also an early example of the artist’s exploration of farming subjects. The work was first exhibited in 1871 under the title Blowing the Horn at Seaside.
More information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I, pages 301-305, which is available as a free PDF at https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/american-paintings-19th-century-part-1.pdf

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 68
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 48.9 x 34.9 cm (19 1/4 x 13 3/4 in.)
framed: 67.6 x 53.3 x 5.7 cm (26 5/8 x 21 x 2 1/4 in.) -
Accession
1994.59.2
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Given by the artist to Charles Collins, New York state;[1] by descent in the Collins family to Virginia Collins Cronister [Mrs. Hugh M. Cronister], Cambridge, Vermont;[2] (sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 23 April 1981, no. 50, bought in); (Nicholas Hubby, Boston); Richard A. Manoogian, Grosse Point, Michigan; (Vose Galleries, Boston); sold May 1985 to Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Upperville, Virginia; gift 1994 to NGA.
[1] This provenance was given for the painting in the 1981 sale catalogue. However, The New York Times of 26 February 1871, reporting on the exhibition and sale at the Somerville Gallery on 23 February, lists a painting by Winslow Homer titled "Dinner Horn" as having sold for $150 to an unnamed buyer. This was probably the National Gallery painting, and Charles Collins was possibly the buyer.
[2] The provenance for the painting given in Lloyd Goodrich, edited and expanded by Abigail Booth Gerdts, Record of Works by Winslow Homer, New York, 2005: 2:no. 368, details the Collins family members who owned the painting: Charles Collins' niece, Mrs. Maria Collins Barton, Summit, New Jersey; her niece, Mrs. Sarah Louise Collins Davis, Florida, by 1974; her niece, Mrs. Cronister, by 1980.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1871
Winter Exhibition, National Academy of Design, New York, 1871-1872.
Somerville Gallery, New York, February 1871, as The Dinner Horn.
Annual Exhibition, Century Association, New York, January 1871, as Blowing the Horn at Seaside, no. 2 on manuscript list (no cat.).
1974
Loan for display with permanent collection, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1974-1981.
1995
Winslow Homer. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995-1996, no. 41, repro.
1999
An Enduring Legacy: Masterpieces from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1999-2000, no cat.
2005
Winslow Homer in the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2005-2006, unnumbered brochure, fig. 2.
Bibliography
1995
Winslow Homer. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995-1996: no. 41.
1996
Kelly, Franklin, with Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., Deborah Chotner, and John Davis. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 301-305, color repro.
1998
Haltman, Kenneth. "Antipastoralism in Early Winslow Homer" in Art Bulletin, Vol. LXXX, No. 1_. 1998: 102, repro. no. 19.
2005
Goodrich, Lloyd, and Abigail Booth Gerdts. Record of Works by Winslow Homer, vol. 2. New York: Spanierman Gallery, 2005, no. 368.
Inscriptions
lower left: WINSLOW HOMER .1870.
Wikidata ID
Q20188727