A Visit from the Old Mistress

An oil painting of five figures in a dim interior with a brick hearth and a wooden door. Three Black women in headwraps and aprons stand near a seated man, while a pale-haired white woman in a dark cloak and lace collar faces them at right. The loose, earthy brushwork gives the scene a quiet, tense mood.

Artist

Winslow Homer

Date

1876

Medium

oil on canvas

Source

Smithsonian (Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Size

2999 × 2206 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian American Art Museum