The Oracle
Dixon’s print responds to growing American discontent after the British Parliament passed a series of laws intended to punish the colonists for recent defiance. The allegory here shows Father Time using a magic lantern to project an image of Concord overcoming Discord. King George III appears in the guise of Apollo, leading Commerce, Liberty, and Truth against fleeing shadowy forms. A rearing snake at lower right symbolizes the colonies’ potential but untested strength. Below the projection are female embodiments of Britain, Scotland, Ireland, and, separated from the rest, America. Represented as a Native figure who looks attentively at the vision, America alone signals alarm.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Oracle
- Artist: John Dixon (Irish, Dublin ca. 1740–1811 London)
- Publisher: John Dixon (Irish, Dublin ca. 1740–1811 London)
- Date: 1774
- Medium: Mezzotint
- Dimensions: Sheet (trimmed to image): 20 1/16 × 23 7/16 in. (51 × 59.5 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1967
- Object Number: 67.797.45(b)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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