Winslow Homer ranks among America's most beloved artists. Early in his career he worked as a Civil War correspondent for Harper's Weekly magazine, and although much of his output at this time centered upon military life, he occasionally painted scenes of rural New England. One of these rural images, Haymaking, depicts a young boy - his pitchfork is longer than he is tall - engaged in a common farming chore. Capturing the optimism of youth and bountiful nature, the scene likely provided solace to viewers, giving them hope for a future time when fields of bloody battle would be transformed into ones of peaceful harvest.