October

John Whetten Ehninger, October, 1867, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1971.290
Copied John Whetten Ehninger, October, 1867, oil on canvas, 32 1⁄4 x 54 1⁄8 in. (82.0 x 137.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1971.290
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
October
Artist
Date
1867
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
32 1⁄4 x 54 1⁄8 in. (82.0 x 137.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Occupation — farm — harvesting
  • Landscape — farm
  • Animal — cattle
  • Landscape — season — autumn
  • Landscape — plant — pumpkin
  • Figure group — male and female
Object Number
1971.290
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1971.290

Artwork Description

John Whetten Ehninger captured the clear atmosphere and brilliant colors of the harvest season. Golden light reflects off of the trees and fields, suffusing the soft clouds above with a comforting glow. A scene like this, evoking community, peace, and plenty, was especially powerful after the Civil War. Ehninger’s image recalls a “golden day” when the nation was innocent and its fields had not been torn by cannon fire. In the year this painting was made, a poet acknowledged the nostalgic power of the harvest with the words, “What calls back the past, like rich Pumpkin pie?/Oh!---fruit of loved boyhood!---the old days recalling.” (Harper’s Weekly, November 23, 1867)