Croquet Player

In the 1860s Homer spent much of his summer time visiting his family's home in Belmont near Boston, and with a close-knit group of cousins and friends, enjoying the leisure-time pursuits of the era. Croquet had become the rage in America early in the decade, and doubtlessly Homer played as well as observed. Between 1865 and 1869 he executed five oil paintings representing this lawn game, using his friends as models. The Academy's painting is accepted as being the earliest in the series.