The Coolest Spot in New England - Summit of Mount Washington

published 1870

after Winslow Homer

Associated Names
Winslow Homer

Artist After, American, 1836 - 1910

The image depicts five people on the summit of Mount Washington. In the foreground, a man and a woman are seated on rocks. The man is shown from the side, partially reclining, and dressed in a buttoned shirt, trousers with suspenders, and wearing a hat with a brim. He has a mustache. The woman next to him, seated and facing slightly towards the left, has her hair styled up with a hat adorned with flowers. Her attire consists of a long-sleeved dress with pronounced detailing around the neck and shoulders. She is holding on to her hat delicately. Another woman stands at the center, her body shown from head to toe, facing away from the viewer and gazing into the distance. She wears an elaborate, layered dress and her hair is pinned up, covered with a hat decorated with flowers. Next to her, partially obscured and sitting on the ground, is another woman in similar period attire, including a dressed-up hat, with a scarf draped over her shoulders, facing right. Lastly, another man, seated on the edge of the image, is shown from the side wearing a suit, with a hat similar to the first man, and carrying a cane. The background features a roof labeled "Tip Top House" on the left and depicts expansive clouds above and a rugged landscape below.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    wood engraving on newsprint

  • Credit Line

    Avalon Fund

  • Dimensions

    image: 35 x 23.3 cm (13 3/4 x 9 3/16 in.)
    sheet: 40 x 27.9 cm (15 3/4 x 11 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1986.31.208

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Foster 1936, no. 210


Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1995

  • Winslow Homer, National Gallery of Art, Washington; Museum of fine Arts, Boston; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995-1996, 78, no. 26.

Bibliography

1936

  • Foster, Allen Evarts. "A check list of illustrations by Winslow Homer in 'Harper's Weekly' and other periodicals." Bulletin of the New York Public Library 40 (1936): 842-852. Separately published New York: New York Public Library, 1936.

1969

  • Gelman 1969, no.217.

1977

  • Kelsey 1977, no.202.

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. 26.

Inscriptions

lower right in plate: WH; across bottom: THE COOLEST SPOT IN NEW ENGLAND-SUMMIT OF MOUNT WASHINGTON.-[Drawn by Winslow Homer.]

Wikidata ID

Q74073374

You may be interested in

Loading Results