Thomas Nast
Subtitle: the father of modern political cartoons
By: Fiona Deans Halloran
Edition: 1 [edition].
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Chapel Hill, NC
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 378
ISBN-13: 9780807835876
Subjects: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Artists, Architects, Photographers; Cartoonists; HISTORY / Modern / 19th Century; ART / Art & Politics; Biography
Description: "Thomas Nast (1840-1902), the founding father of American political cartooning, is perhaps best known for his cartoons portraying political parties as the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant. Nast's legacy also includes a trove of other political cartoons, his successful attack on the machine politics of Tammany Hall in 1871, and his wildly popular illustrations of Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly magazine. Throughout his career, his drawings provided a pointed critique that forced readers to confront the contradictions around them.  In this thoroughgoing and lively biography, Fiona Deans Halloran focuses not just on Nast's political cartoons for Harper's but also on his place within the complexities of Gilded Age politics and highlights the many contradictions in his own life: he was an immigrant who attacked immigrant communities, a supporter of civil rights who portrayed black men as foolish children in need of guidance, and an enemy of corruption and hypocrisy who idolized Ulysses S. Grant. He was a man with powerful friends, including Mark Twain, and powerful enemies, including William M. "Boss" Tweed. Halloran interprets Nast's work, explores his motivations and ideals, and illuminates Nast's lasting legacy on American political culture. "--

"Thomas Nast (1840-1902), the founding father of American political cartooning, is perhaps best known for his cartoons portraying political parties as the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant. Nast's legacy also includes a trove of other political cartoons, his successful attack on the machine politics of Tammany Hall in 1871, and his wildly popular illustrations of Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly magazine. In this thoroughgoing and lively biography, Fiona Deans Halloran interprets his work, explores his motivations and ideals, and illuminates the lasting legacy of Nast's work on American political culture"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: From five points to Frank Leslie's; title: Early work and training; title: Travel to Europe and Sallie; title: Compromise with the South; title: Falling in love with Grant; title: Tweed --The campaign of 1872; title: Redpath and wealth; title: Access and authority; title: Conflict with Curtis; title: The end of an era; title: Nast's weekly and Guayaquil; title: Legacy