The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 22, 2026

A horizontally oriented oil painting in visible brushstrokes depicts a white horse in profile, facing our right. The horse has a slightly lowered head and a long tail hanging down on our left, rendered in muted shades of gray, tan, and white. It is centered within a cloudy patch of light gray paint and emerges from a dark reddish-brown background. A light tan band suggests the ground beneath its hooves.

White Mare

c. 1868

Winslow Homer

(American, 1836–1910)
America
oil on panel
Framed: 32.5 x 45 x 4.5 cm (12 13/16 x 17 11/16 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 20 x 32.6 cm (7 7/8 x 12 13/16 in.)
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr. 1958.33
Location: Not on view

Description

In August 1868 Winslow Homer, then working as a free-lance illustrator, visited the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As early as the 1820s, American artists used the White Mountains as a setting for landscape paintings. Unlike Thomas Cole (1802-1848) and Asher Durand (1796-1886), who focused on the unspoiled wilderness, Homer turned his attention to other tourists. He made this oil sketch as a study for the horse in a large oil painting The Bridal Path, White Mountains (1868; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts).
  • Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg (purchased from the artist); (Valentine Gallery, New York, 12 January 1942); Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.
  • Williamstown, MA, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, A Selection of Six: American Paintings from the Clark Collection (17 November 1990-13 January 1991).
    Winslow Homer: Portrait of America. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 10, 1965-May 16, 1966).
    Louisville, KY, J. B. Speed Memorial Museum (13 February-5 March 1944).
  • {{cite web|title=White Mare|url=false|author=Winslow Homer|year=c. 1868|access-date=22 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.33