Painting, Garrison House, York, Maine

<!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--> A sister and younger brother hold hands in the foreground, walking down Berwick Road, then made of dirt, passing a boarded-up garrison. Scottish immigrant Robert Junkins built the garrison, in York County, Maine, around 1660 when he settled in the area, and lived there until his death nearly forty years later; his family remained in the house until the last member living there died in 1844. When Winslow Homer painted this scene in July 1875, he was probably reacting to the American interest in colonial revival styles. The garrison, a fortified one-family house, was a popular architectural style in seventeenth-century York County. Its projecting roofs and overhanging upper stories allowed openings in the floors for use in battle: one could shoot missiles from holes in the projections, or pour water down to quench a fire. Such protection and defense were necessary in New England frontier towns where Native Americans, the French, and other settlers constantly fought for land. The garrison was one of the last two in the area when it was burned by vandals in 1889, and today Homer’s portrait of a house serves as a record of both family and American history, place, and time.

Painting, Garrison House, York, Maine; Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910); USA; brush and oil paint on canvas; 39.8 × 57.3 cm (15 11/16 × 22 9/16 in.); Gift of Mrs. Charles Savage Homer, Jr.; 1918-20-11