Post-Civil War America was a traumatized nation, unequipped with the resilience to mentally and emotionally withstand not only the carnage war had wrought, but also the sweeping social and economic changes that came with it.

Most painters at this time steered clear of political and social content in their work, choosing to depict simpler, more innocent times. On the other hand, the technological changes that often follow after war allowed many Americans to study abroad in cities of history such as Paris or Rome, bringing back painters who learned the journalistic, down-to-earth tone that was in vogue at the time and giving them an expanded market in which they could make an impact.

This painting is Homer’s most celebrated work, and depicts a group of kids playing “snap the whip.” One child acts as the conductor, while the other acts as the caboose, with the other children all in between them. The caboose has to try his hardest to stay on without being thrown off by the snaking twists and turns of the human train. Bet these little demons are gonna have serious cases of whiplash at the end of the line.

Homer’s depiction appeals to the nostalgic spirit of the Reconstruction-era viewer. The children are all dressed in contemporary rural clothing, barefoot in the grass, but with suspenders that suggest the responsibilities of manhood. The game they play, once viewed through this lens, turns from just an innocent kids’ game into an allegory for the struggle to hold onto memories of a less weary, sunnier time and for a nation trying to keep itself together despite turbulence.

The last owner of the painting, Christian Zabriskie, was the Wyoming-born employee of the Pacific Coast Borax Company, brought on by Francis “Borax” Smith in 1885 to supervise several hundred Chinese workers at Candelaria. Before this, Zabriskie’s younger years were spent going from job to job, as he was consumed with wanderlust and a desire to escape the small town of his birth. He eventually became vice president, which led to him becoming general manager of the company for thirty-six years until his retirement in 1933. A mountain in Death Valley bears his name.