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The Brave at Home. No. 3.

Date1862-1865

MediumLithography; printer's ink and watercolor on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 12 1/4 x 9 1/16in. (31.1 x 23cm)
Sheet (height x width): 15 x 11 1/8in. (38.1 x 28.3cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase

DescriptionA woman wearing a dress trimmed with ruching, with a hoop skirt and undersleeves with cuffs, stands in an interior holding the right hand of a young man in her right hand. Her left hand rests on his shoulder. He wears a Union military uniform consisting of a jacket, a belt with a brass bucklet with "U.S." on it, pants, and a beaked cap which he holds in his left hand. A small dog sits at their feet looking up at them. Drapery with cords and a tassel is in the left background. A book labeled "HOLY / BIBLE" and a vase of flowers are on a table covered with a tablecloth in the right background. A patterned carpet is on the floor.

Object number1987.216.9

InscribedOn recto, lithographed title beneath image, "THE BRAVE AT HOME. / NO. 3. / The mother who conceals her grief, / While to her breast her son she presses, / Then breathes a few brave words and brief, / Kissing the patriot brow she blesses, / with no one but her secret God / to know the pain that weighs upon her, / Sheds holy blood as e'er the sod / Received on Freedom's field of honor."

On verso, lower right, in pencil, "Dwr 27" and accession number.NotesSubject Note: The poem, "The Brave at Home," was written by Thomas Buchanan Read (1822-1872), a poet and painter known for his patriotic subjects. (Finlay 8/22/2003)

Subject Terms