Winslow Homer (1836 -1910)
Snap the Whip, 1872
Oil on canvas, 22 x 36 in
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
It is widely agreed that Snap the Whip is set in Hurley at the Eagle's Nest one-room schoolhouse on Hurley Mountain Road. The schoolhouse was converted to a residence which still stands at the intersection with Eagle's Nest Road. This painting features a broad expanse of Hurley Mountain rising in back of the schoolhouse whereas the more familiar but much smaller version seen at far right on this page has a meadow and the village of Hurley in the distance. This perspective more closely matches the actual view Homer would have seen at his sketchpad. The Eagle's Nest school served a diverse population living up along Eagle's Nest Road, isolated from the village of Hurley. The building still stands today as a private dwelling. See "now" photograph below.
Winslow Homer (1836 -1910)
Snap the Whip
Harper's Weekly, Vol. XVII, Sept. 20, 1873
Wood engraving on paper, 13.5 x 20.5 in
The double-page wood engraving of Snap the Whip appeared as a centerfold in Harper's Weekly the year after the two Snap the Whip oil paintings were made. This engraving is the most popular and most collected of any Homer engraving.
Winslow Homer (1836 -1910)
Snap the Whip, 1872
Oil on canvas, 12 x 20 in
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
This iconic painting is the most reproduced and written about painting in American art. It depicts boys playing in the yard of the Eagle's Nest schoolhouse on Hurley Mountain Road. In the distance is the steeple of the Hurley Reformed Church. The image of Hurley Mountain has been detected underneath the paint of the sky, showing that Homer later decided to create a composite view, making a stronger connection between the school and village. Because of its small size, this painting is possibly a study for the larger "mountain" version of the painting seen at far left on this page.
NOW
The Eagle's Nest schoolhouse as it appears today converted to a private residence tucked up against the mountain. Compare this view to Snap the Whip above. Note that Hurley Mountain Road used to pass between the building and the mountain but now passes in front of it. The road was rerouted and raised in the 20th century to protect from flooding. (Photo: Bruce Whistance 2019)
THEN
ca.1890. Eagle's Nest schoolhouse and site of Snap the Whip from a different vantage point. A schoolboy has paused on his way down the road. This is on Hurley Mountain Road near Wynkoop Road looking north towards Eagle's Nest Road. At that time, the dirt road hugged the mountain and passed behind the school. (Hurley Museum collection)
NOW
Looking north on Hurley Mountain Road towards the former Eagle's Nest schoolhouse, now a private residence. The driveway to the left of this house is the former route of Hurley Mountain Road. (Photo: Bruce Whistance 2019)
Winslow Homer (1836 -1910)
Snap the Whip, 1872
chalk drawing, 9-3/16 x 16-1/2 in.
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution
A study for the Snap the Whip paintings.