Wikimedia Commons • Public Domain
Snap the Whip
Where to See It
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OHYoungstown, United States
Permanently housed
Winslow Homer captured American childhood in this iconic image of boys playing the game Snap the Whip. The barefoot children race across a meadow outside their rural schoolhouse, hands linked in a line about to break. Homer painted this shortly after the Civil War, celebrating national innocence.
The painting embodies optimism about America's future through its energetic youth. Homer's clear light and precise draftsmanship give the scene documentary clarity. Displayed at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.
