Homer’s A Picnic in the Woods is a pleasant joke, suggesting that the usually staid picnic might also be tumultuous. The action here is everywhere.
A large picnic blanket is spread and filled with food: a bowl of fruit, a large ham with a knife for carving, a small turkey or large chicken, a bowl of cherries, and a pie, which a small boy is nibbling on. A stack of wine bottles stands ready in a wine basket. A small child impulsively reaches for a drink for a woman holding a tray full of filled glasses.
Some mild consternation overshadows the happiness of the memento as a black snake suddenly appears. The ladies flee, and a young man raises his walking stick to get rid of it.
Featured Image: Winslow Homer. A Picnicking in the Woods, wood engraving. Harper’s Weekly Magazine (September 4, 1858)