Eakins himself appears in the water at bottom right – 'in signature position, so to speak.' According to Jonathan Weinberg, The Swimming Hole marked the beginning of homoerotic imagery in American art. The painting has been 'widely cited as a prime example of homoeroticism in American art'.

The Swimming Hole (1884–85) by the American artist Thomas Eakins (1844–1916) is regarded as a masterpiece of American painting, and has been called 'the most finely designed of all his outdoor pictures'.