The Cut Direct
date: label: Date made
content: n.d.
name: label: depicted
content: Van Buren, Martin
label: artist
content: Dacre, Henry
label: maker
content: Robinson, Henry R.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This undated print depicts Martin Van Buren being snubbed by Catharine Jones Clinton, the wife of the late Governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton and granddaughter of Declaration of Independence signer Philip Livingston. Van Buren and Clinton were once close friends with Clinton serving as Van Buren’s political mentor, but their relationship soured after Clinton, a Democratic Republican, turned to the Federalist Party for help during his presidential campaign. That political decision angered Van Buren, and he abandoned Clinton in favor of a new band of the Republican Party, the Bucktails. This faction grew under Van Buren’s guidance, and became the pilot of the Albany Regency political machine that among other things, voted in the New York Senate to remove Clinton from his beloved post on the Erie Canal Commission. That decision angered the electorate who saw him as the valuable driving force behind the waterway expansion. Due to this, Clinton was elected Governor as the “People’s Party” candidate, and served two terms until his death in office in 1828. In this print Cllinton’s wife is shown ignoring Van Buren, and when asked why she snubbed him, she states, “I. I. Speak to the …… who persecuted my husband to the day of his death.” She clearly sees Van Buren as the cause of her husband’s sudden and unexpected death, placing the blame on their political strife and tension. This print is based on actual events in which she refused to speak to Van Buren while at Saratoga, causing comments in the press. A devoted wife, Catharine Jones Clinton defended her husband’s memory until her death.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The lithographer of this print is Henry Dacre. Dacre was born in England, but worked for the lithographer, P.S. Duval in Philadelphia from 1847 to 1850.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The publisher of this print is Henry R. Robinson (1827-1877). Robinson worked in New York, and had a store to sell his prints. In 1842, he was arrested for selling obscene pictures and books leading to the September 28, 1842 court case, People vs H. R. Robinson found in the District Attorney Indictment Papers, Municipal Archives. He was politically affiliated with the anti-Jackson Whig party which was made obvious by the wig silhouette used in 1838 as an advertising logo for his shop.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Furnishings
label: Subject
content: Lighting
label: Subject
content: Adornment
label: Subject
content: Uniforms, Military
label: Subject
content: Dancing
label: Subject
content: Political Caricatures
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: Clothing & Accessories
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content: Peters Political Prints
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content: Art
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content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.3369
label: catalog number
content: 60.3369
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: image: 10 5/8 in x 14 1/2 in; 26.9875 cm x 36.83 cm