Snap the Whip
1872 · Oil on canvas · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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About this work
- Artist
- Winslow Homer (1836–1910)
- Year
- 1872
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 30.5 × 50.8 cm
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Movement
- Realism
A line of barefoot boys play snap the whip on a meadow outside a red one-room schoolhouse, the two at the end of the chain tumbling to the ground. Homer painted the subject twice in 1872; the larger version is at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, and this smaller one is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A wood engraving of it appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1873, and it became one of the best-loved images of rural American childhood.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A cheerful scene of boys at play for a child's room, playroom or family hallway in a dark wood frame. It suits white, sky-blue or soft green walls and pairs with The Country School.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Realism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1872)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- classic
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, kids room, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. Prints at 18×12, 24×16 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; dark wood warms it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Snap the Whip in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Snap the Whip painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
