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Artist/Maker
Thomas Nast
(American, born Germany, 1840 - 1902)
Datepublished November 20, 1869
MediumWood engraving on newsprint
DimensionsComposition: 9 1/8 × 13 3/4 in. (23.2 × 34.9 cm)
Sheet: 15 1/4 × 10 1/8 in. (38.7 × 25.7 cm)
Credit LineGift of Professor Emeritus Jay Williams, Class of 1954
Object number2019.13.111
On view
Description“This image reflects Nast’s hope for the future, that all Americans will one day celebrate democracy and equal rights together. On the dinner table, the centerpiece reads, “universal suffrage.” Nast hoped that once there was universal suffrage, there would be self-governance, freedom, and equality. In the foreground, a Chinese mother tends to her child, while her husband chats with Columbia, the personification of American democracy, and black man. At the head of the table Uncle Sam carves the turkey. Nast popularized Uncle Sam, who often stands in contrast to Columbia and highlights the negative qualities of American government. In this case, Uncle Sam is the host and is responsible for this democratic celebration. Portraits of Lincoln, Washington, and Grant are in the background. Nast saw the three leaders as men whose reforms would lead to this state of equality.”
(SOURCE: Susanna White, "Emancipation and Denigration: Thomas Nast Pictures Black America", 2008)
Additional Details
Exhibition History
2008
Clinton, NY (Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Emancipation and Denigration: Thomas Nast Pictures Black America," January 14, 2008 - April 13, 2008
Clinton, NY (Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Emancipation and Denigration: Thomas Nast Pictures Black America," January 14, 2008 - April 13, 2008
Provenance
2019: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art), by gift of Jay G. Williams.
Published References
Susanna White, EMANCIPATION AND DENIGRATION: THOMAS NAST PICTURES BLACK AMERICA, exh. cat. (Clinton, NY: Emerson Gallery, 2008)
Signature
Signed "Th Nast" in block at lower right composition.
Inscribed
Title in block at bottom of composition in black ink. Publication date "November 20, 1869," publisher, and page number "745" typeset along left perimeter of the image at the top of the sheet.
Thomas Nast
Date: published January 24, 1863
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.28
Thomas Nast
Date: published October 3, 1868
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.103
Thomas Nast
Date: published December 9, 1876
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.353
Thomas Nast
Date: published March 14, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.234
Thomas Nast
Date: published October 17, 1874
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.255
Carrie Mae Weems
Date: 1990 (printed 2010)
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Object number: 2011.5
Thomas Nast
Date: published December 16, 1871
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.159
Thomas Nast
Date: published November 15, 1873
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.223
Thomas Nast
Date: published August 5, 1865
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.71
Thomas Nast
Date: published November 11, 1871
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.153
Thomas Nast
Date: unknown
Medium: Wood engraving on paper
Object number: 1944.1.59
Thomas Nast
Date: published May 20, 1871
Medium: Wood engraving on newsprint
Object number: 2019.13.133