Winslow Homer and the Demi-Monde

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) invites us into the urban environments of Boston and New York where he chronicled the ordinary happenings of daily life in America's fastest-growing and crowded inner city. Boston had become a cosmopolitan city almost overnight with its comfortable and shaded picnic areas, nearby shoreline, accommodating beaches, and venues for horse racing. By the mid-nineteenth century, when Homer lived in the heart of the commercial district, Boston was the fastest-growing metro city on the eastern seaboard frequented by visitors worldwide. Once known as the beacon on the hill for its saintly living, with unprecedented growth, Boston now experienced an influx of strangers that included "pickpockets, crooks, and women of the night."

In Homer's illustrations for the popular press and the details of his paintings, the activity of the demi-monde and their houses of prostitution are revealed. The gentlemen who frequented such places would have recognized the facts and clues in Homer's illustrations.

With illustrated weeklies in the popular press intended for all readers, the presence of the demi-monde quickly became understood as a presentation of middle-class women enjoying the city's environment, parks, and playgrounds. Several establishments of the demi-monde would have been well-known to the elite clientele who frequented such establishments.

Following Homer's invitation to observe the details, readers will discover, perhaps for the first time in Homer's work, the presence of this demi-monde.