The Bright Side

The Bright Side is an early painting from the career of American artist, Winslow Homer. He would only have been in his late twenties at the time that he produced this piece, which was in the final year of the American Civil War in 1865.

The composition here features four African American Union Army teamsters laying down and relaxing. Homer was a capable figurative artist but most know him today as a seascape painter because of the work that he produced in later decades. At this point the American Civil War was dominating every aspect of American life and Homer himelf was heavily involved in documenting the ongoing events. We can spot within this scene some horse and carts just in the background, as well as a bright blue sky which perhaps points to this conflict entering its final year, with a better future lying ahead. The camp in which they relax is illustrated by the large tent which is erected just by their side, also providing them with a little shade as they await orders. The landscape is noticeably dry and barren, reminding us of the harsh environment in which many of these soldiers would have served.

The artist followed the Union Army for the period of the war, documenting and sketching events that he witnessed first hand. Many of these drawings served as studies for later paintings which he would complete within his studio. The illustrations were provided for a number of magazines who supplemented them with textual information about the ongoing conflict. Inevitably, the war would affect the artist and after it was finished he would sometimes capture the same soldiers within their new domestic lives. It would also mark the point at which he would switch from being a professional illustrator to a fulltime painter and he would eventually master both oils as well as watercolours. Some documents were discovered after Homer's death in which he explained the content of this piece.

The Bright Side is a part of the permanent collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, though it has been regularly loaned out because of its strong connection to the themes of both American history and art. Its focus on the African American community is also important because many artists of that period would not often include this group within their work. Homer, however, was very different in that regard and helped to encourage a slightly more diverse focus within American art. His realist style of painting was also well suited to covering historical events, and he also avoided over working paintings, helping some of the original emotions that he experienced to come through within the work.