Thompson’s painting has often been retitled. It has been Pic Nick, A Pic Nick, Camden, Maine], and is currently A Pic Nick in the Woods of New England. The menu included ham [with cloves], roast chicken, clams, potatoes or baked beans? [in a dish], bread, wine,...
According to family lore, Llewelyn photographed his wife Emma each year on her birthday, September 23, 1855. From a picnic point of view, it’s fortuitous because, to my knowledge, this is the first photograph ever of a picnic. *Llewelyn was a pioneer...
“My first Derby,” William Powell Frith explained, “had no interest for me as a race, but as giving me the opportunity of studying life and character.” after considerable preparation, Frith eventually painted the scene as an amusement tinged...
Flaubert’s Madame Bovary is attack on the French bourgeoisie’s crudities and lack of taste. A pivotal moment occurs at Emma Rouault’s wedding party, a vaguely picnicky outdoor event. The party foreshadows Emma’s disastrous relationship with...
The Fūdo Falls is known for its spiritual and curative powers. A rope with tassels marks a sacred Shinto space. It’s among the most well-known scenic waterfalls in Japan. ButHiroshige’s vision of the falls is his own. Picnickers sit at a table below the falls. In the...
Six hikers have reached a plateau near Mansfield Mountain’s top and are ready to picnic just before sunset. Thompson titled the painting a Belated Party to provide tension, and we wonder if the picnickers will safely walk down the 4400-foot mountain in the...
Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives’ lithographs The Pic-Nic Party and The Childrens Pic-Nic are picnics without food or drink. In The Pic-Nic Party, the central figure is a woman on a swing pushed by a young man, probably her beau. Just in front of her is a...
Rossetti’s “At Home” (1858) was initially titled “After the Picnic.” but when her brother Dante declared picnics frivolous and insisted on a change, Ms. Rossetti complied. It’s known Rossetti composed the poem after attending a real...
Picnicking in the Woods. Harper’s Weekly, Vol. II, September 4, 1858. Woodblock
Corot’s Idylle is picnicky. Pan’s presence usually suggests some sort of sexuality or chaotic action, but the scene is a joyful but serene. Featured Image: Musée des Beaux Arts, Lille
