Fire-Works on the Night of the Fourth of July

Winslow Homer • 1868

Fire-Works on the Night of the Fourth of July, 1868

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Winslow Homer focuses on the reaction of the spectators watching a New York City Fourth of July fireworks display instead of the pyrotechnics themselves. In the far distance, viewers seem to be looking upward. But in the foreground, a firework collides with a gentleman’s top hat causing visible dismay to the people nearby.