The Gilded Age in American Art

Discussion Starters: Cultural/Historical
Consider how this work relates to the Gilded Age.

Key points:
Desire for rural images, specifically vacation spots.

Impact of new scientific and spiritual theories

How does this picture express the new post-Civil War American landscape? Consider the rural location and vacationing woman. (landscape as playground, occupied by tourists, improved accessibility to rural locations, increased desire to escape growing urbanization of America)

Consider the new theories of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer. How does Homer's painting seem influenced by these theories?