TitleThe Home Guard
Artist
Thomas Hicks
(1823 - 1890)
Date1863
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 18 × 24 in.
Framed: 29 3/4 × 35 7/8 × 4 1/2 in.
SignedSigned on lower right: "T. HICKS. / 1863".
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY, Bequest of James A. Suydam, 1865
Object number571-P
Label TextThis seemingly satirical painting by Thomas Hicks is the only direct representation of the Civil War in James R. Suydam's extensive collection., which he bequeathed to the National Academy of Design. Notable for its sense of irony, the work shows a Union soldier holding yarn as he woos a young woman under the contemptuous watch of her chaperone, rather than being engaged in the service of his country. Moreover, the soldier is no symbol of virility, with his balding head and slender limbs. The work is more likely a veiled indictment of the Union's poor management of its manpower than a critique of the soldiers themselves.Collections
- 19th Century Highlights from the Collection
Harrie Thomas Lindeberg
n.d