Winslow Homer 1836 - 1910

Mrs. Louis Prang, Boston, Massachusetts, before 1924
H.H. Pierce and Miss Frances Tarbox, Reading, Massachusetts, 1924
Kennedy Galleries, New York, by 1960
Park Gallery, Oak Park, Michigan, 1960
James Goodman Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Harold K. Hochschild, New York, circa 1966 (acquired from the above)
Private Collection (by descent and sold: Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, October 22, 1981, lot 16)
Frank Fowler, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee (acquired at the above sale and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 28, 1987, lot 100, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County Museum, American Artists as Print Makers, September–October 1963, no. 103

James Goodman Gallery, Sales Catalogue, Buffalo, New York, Spring 1966, no. 19, p. 6 (as Houghton Farm Series)
Lloyd Goodrich and Abigail Booth Gerdts, Record of Works by Winslow Homer: 1877 through 1881, New York, 2008, vol. III, no. 778, p. 212, illustrated

Winslow Homer visited Houghton Farm for the first time in the summer of 1876 and was immediately enchanted by its idyllic pastoral scenery. Nestled in the Hudson River Valley town of Mountainville, New York, the farm belonged to Lawson Valentine, a principal patron and childhood friend of the artist. The property inspired Homer to produce an extensive and distinctive body of work that initiated his mature period. Executed primarily between 1877 and 1879, these watercolors and drawings capture a snapshot of life on the farm and are unified by their subject matter, which includes children, farm animals, and shepherdesses. Works from this period, such as A Rural Couple, not only illustrate Homer’s fascination with the rustic setting, but also capture the deeply personal connection he felt with the local inhabitants.