Shepherd

This lyrical and lively drawing was produced in preparation for Homer’s most ambitious experiment in decorative design—the Shepherd and Shepherdess fireplace surround (2003.140) in The Met’s collection. The highly detailed painting on ceramic tiles dates to the artist’s active involvement with the Tile Club, one of many New York artist organizations established in response to growing public interest in tilework and domestic design.

The drawing itself reveals the level of seriousness that Homer brought to his decorative work. In what may have begun as a rudimentary sketch, intended for transfer to a vertical grouping of three 8-inch square Minton tiles, Homer chose to elaborate his drawing with an unusual mix of black-and-white media, ultimately presenting it as a more finished work of art that he sold to a private collector a few years later. While the figure’s ‘old-fashioned’ dress suggests a storybook context, perhaps inspired by the popular illustrations of English Arts and Crafts artist Walter Crane, the vivid depiction of the male model appears to be grounded in Homer’s lived experience—specifically his recurring summer visits to the Catskills community of Houghton Farm, begun in 1876. Owned by Homer’s family friend and patron, Lawson Valentine, Houghton Farm, near Mountainville, New York, was known for its progressive experiments in sheep husbandry. Homer’s transformation of actual farm workers into dainty costumed figures—particularly a series of female ‘bo-peeps’—reveals a creative inventiveness and market savvy at a time when the artist was looking to increase his income with decorative projects. Homer exhibited many of these works—including The Met’s finished tile surround that he also copyrighted—in his regular venues, especially the American Watercolor Society annuals, and received positive reviews. One critic observed that these works were "more essentially and distinctively pastoral than anything that any American artist has yet attempted."