Trapping in the Adirondacks

The illustration needs no key. The sportsman has just drawn from the water a fine specimen of Adirondack game, and seems to be contemplating it with severe composure. The scenery will be recognized by visitors to the Wilderness, as a faithful representation of Adirondack woods and waters.

Once again Homer departed from convention (and the accompanying text) to depict a pair of guides from Baker’s Clearing. While traditional sporting images focused on the elite visitors, or “sportsmen,” Homer chose the local labor force to serve as his subjects. Here he depicted Charles Lancaster and Rufus Wallace checking traps on Mink Pond in late summer or early fall. The distinctive profile of Beaver Mountain rises at the right. These Adirondack landmarks and regional types would appear again and again in Homer’s paintings and watercolors in the coming decades.