Mary Had a Little Lamb

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Photo by John Bentham.
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Photo by John Bentham.
Artist/Maker (American, born Germany, 1840 - 1902)
Datec. 1863
MediumGraphite on paper
DimensionsComposition/Sheet: 8 1/2 in. × 14 in. (21.6 × 35.6 cm)
Credit LineGift of the artist's son
Object number1944.1.10
On view
DescriptionPencil sketches depicting the nursery rhyme, "Mary Had a Little Lamb." It is possible Nast's cartoon is a nod to Mary Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Ladies Book and writer of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," who petitioned for Thanksgiving to become a fixed annual holiday. In 1863, Hale persuaded William Seward to draft an official Thanksgiving proclamation for Abraham Lincoln to sign. Nast later created a Thanksgiving-themed drawing in honor of the fifteenth amendment in 1869.
Collections

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2024-2025
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.).
Provenance 1943: Hamilton College, by gift of Mabel Nast Crawford and Cyril Nast;
? - 1943: Thomas Nast family (Mrs. Thomas Nast, Thomas Nast Jr., Mabel Nast Crawford, and Cyril Nast), presumably by gift or inheritance from the artist.
Thanksgiving-Day, November 26, 1863, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thanksgiving-Day, November 26, 1863, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published December 5 , 1863
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.47
The ‘Funny’ Little Boy in Trouble, from "Harper's Weekly"
The ‘Funny’ Little Boy in Trouble, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published November 28, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.262
The Emancipation of the Negroes, January, 1863:The Past and the Future, from "Harper's Weekly"
The Emancipation of the Negroes, January, 1863:The Past and the Future, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published January 24, 1863
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.28
Tammany Tiger Loose: 'What Are You Going to Do About It?', from "Harper's Weekly"
Tammany Tiger Loose: 'What Are You Going to Do About It?', from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published November 11, 1871
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.153
Halt!, from "Harper's Weekly"
Halt!, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published October 17, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.255
Sanitary Commission: Our Heroines, from "Harper's Weekly"
Sanitary Commission: Our Heroines, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published April 9, 1864
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.57
The Workingman's Mite, from "Harper's Weekly"
The Workingman's Mite, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published May 20, 1871
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.133
Christmas Eve, 1862, from "Harper's Weekly"
Christmas Eve, 1862, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published January 3, 1863
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.26
The Modern Samson, from "Harper's Weekly"
The Modern Samson, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published October 3, 1868
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.103
© Krista Steinke. Image Courtesy of Light Work, Syracuse, NY. For educational purposes only.
They wondered where the path would lead them
Krista Steinke
Date: 2006
Medium: Archival inkjet print
Object number: 2020.8.17
Photo by John Bentham.
Christmas Time
Thomas Nast
Date: late 19th century
Medium: Lithograph on paper
Object number: 1944.1.61
Ay, There's the Rub, from "Harper's Weekly"
Ay, There's the Rub, from "Harper's Weekly"
Thomas Nast
Date: published December 11, 1875
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.303