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Charlotte Mason Picture Study Aid Winslow Homer

Home, Sweet Home

c. 1863
oil on canvas
54.6 x 41.9 cm

National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
KEY TOPICS:
• The scene depicted is two Union soldiers in their camp, sitting in front of their make-shift

tents, waiting for the food in the pot on the fire to finish cooking. In the tent to the left can

be seen the boot of a solider who is resting inside as well a ration of hardtack on a metal
plate. The seated soldier is holding a piece of paper that may be a letter he is writing or that

he has received. The lower-right corner of the piece contains holly branches with bright

5
berries, which are sometimes used to represent sacrifice.
• In the middle distance, the Army band can be seen with brass instruments brightly

reflecting the sun while they play the song that shares the piece’s title, “Home, Sweet Home.”
This became something of an anthem for soldiers during the war:

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble there’s no place like home!
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,

5 (Harvey)

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