Life in Camp, Part 1: Hard Tack
Winslow Homer|Louis Prang & Co.
1864 · Color lithograph · Drawings and Prints

In 1864 Homer designed two series of lithographed collectors’ cards titled Life in Camp for the Boston publisher Louis Prang & Co. Unlike his serious war-time images for Harper’s Weekly, the artist felt free to inject humor into these miniature comments on army life which include images of soldiers resting, eating and reacting to army life. Here, a Union soldier reacts to hard tack, a hated food staple that provided little more than calories. By 1864 the war was entering its final months and formerly sacrosanct subjects could be approached more lightly.
- Artist
- Winslow Homer|Louis Prang & Co.
- Date
- 1864
- Medium
- Color lithograph
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Credit line
- The Jefferson Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson Burdick, 1947