Winslow Homer depicts class divide at Thanksgiving holiday | 1860

Posted on by Jake Wynn
Working class family on Thanksgiving in 1860 as depicted by artist Winslow Homer with son working late and coming home to care for his sister and mother.

Winslow Homer’s 1860 Harper’s Weekly illustration reveals a stark Thanksgiving class divide - opulent elites relaxing contrasted with coal miners and their families toiling through the holiday. Discover this powerful social critique and how it relates to Pennsylvania’s anthracite fields on the eve of the Civil War. Read the full story.

A dark and ominous sketch of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania | 1910

Posted on by Jake Wynn

In 1910, artist Joseph Pennell sketched a dark, foreboding view of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, capturing the stark industrial landscape dominated by coal breakers and immigrant communities. His illustration, now in the Library of Congress, reflects the hidden world of America’s coal towns, largely unseen by the broader public. Read the full story.