art gallery at university of saint joseph shows thomas nast political

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 8, 2012
Contact: Cynthia A. Mariani, Director of Marketing and Communications
Telephone: 860.231.5387
E-mail: [email protected]
ART GALLERY AT UNIVERSITY OF SAINT JOSEPH SHOWS
THOMAS NAST POLITICAL CARTOONS ON
ELECTIONS OF 1872 AND 1876
Thomas Nast (1840 - 1902). Who Are The Haters? from Harper’s Weekly, October 19, 1872. Wood engraving. Gift
of Judith and Norman Zlotsky, 2006.
WEST HARTFORD, CONN. – The Noise of Democracy: Thomas Nast and the Elections of
1872 and 1876 opens at the Art Gallery, University of Saint Joseph on Thursday, September 20
with a talk for members by Director Ann H. Sievers at 5:30 p.m. followed by a public reception
from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. The exhibition will be on view through Sunday, December 9. The curators
of the exhibition will give a Gallery Talk on Tuesday, October 9 at 5:30 p.m.
The Noise of Democracy examines the issues and personalities that shaped the presidential
elections of 1872 and 1876. Thomas Nast’s cartoons in Harper’s Weekly helped shape opinion
on key issues of the day, including monetary policy and the separation of church and state.
The 1872 election pitted Republican incumbent Ulysses S. Grant against newspaper publisher
Horace Greeley, nominated by both the splinter Liberal Republican Party and the Democratic
Party. Harper’s Weekly (and Nast) supported Grant, who was re-elected to a second term during
which scandal and controversy eroded support for Republicans. In 1876, in the first disputed
presidential election in American history, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote while
crucial electoral votes remained in question. A back-room deal between the two Parties gave
Republican Rutherford B. Hayes the election but required him to withdraw federal troops from
the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.
Nast combined extraordinary skill as a draughtsman with a clever use of puns and symbols both
borrowed and invented. The Bible, Shakespeare, and Aesop’s Fables provided inspiration, as did
popular songs and colloquial expressions. Nast codified the use of Elephant and Donkey to
represent the Republican and Democratic Parties and employed the traditional personifications of
the United States - Columbia and Uncle Sam - in witty and powerful images.
All of the works in this exhibition are drawn from the 2006 gift of Judith and Norman Zlotsky.
The exhibition was organized by Ann H. Sievers, Director and Curator, and Tanekwah C. Hinds,
Wellesley College (Class of 2015), Art Gallery summer curatorial intern. For more information
visit the exhibition webpage at www.usj.edu/nod.
The Art Gallery is located in Bruyette Athenaeum on the University of Saint Joseph’s West
Hartford campus at 1678 Asylum Avenue. The Art Gallery presents regular exhibitions drawn
from its permanent collection as well as loan exhibitions of historic art or of contemporary work
by artists of national and international prominence.
The Art Gallery is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday: 11:00 a.m. - 4:00
p.m.; Thursday: 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.; and Sunday: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.; closed Monday.
Admission is free of charge.
###
The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) offers a wide range of graduate, undergraduate, and certificate programs that
combine a professional and liberal arts education with a focus on service. Coeducational graduate master’s and
doctoral degree programs are taught on the University’s two campuses in West Hartford and Hartford,
Connecticut; at off-campus locations throughout the state; and online. Undergraduate programs for women and
for coeducational adult students take place on our beautiful suburban campus and include more than 22 majors
and six pre-professional programs, each of which provides personal attention in a caring environment. Founded in
1932 by the Sisters of Mercy, the University of Saint Joseph welcomes students from diverse backgrounds and
religious traditions. To learn more, view our website at www.usj.edu.
OFFICE OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
1678 Asylum Avenue West Hartford, Connecticut 06117-2791  Tel: 860.231.5334  Fax: 860.233.5695