"The Nigger" in the Woodpile

1860

Not on view

This political caricature uses a highly offensive racial epithet that was a common colloquialism in 1860, pointing to the casual racism that permiated American culture at that date. The image shows a Black man imprisoned in a kind of wooden jail to comment on Abraham Lincoln's indeciveness towards slavery when he first ran for the presidency.

Artwork Details

Title: "The Nigger" in the Woodpile
Artist: Probably after Louis Maurer (American (born Germany), Biebrich 1832–1932 New York)
Publisher: Currier & Ives (American, active New York, 1857–1907)
Sitter: Abraham Lincoln (American, Hardin County, Kentucky 1809–1865 Washington, D.C.)
Sitter: Horace Greeley (American, 1811–1872)
Date: 1860
Medium: Lithograph
Dimensions: Image: 9 1/8 × 14 1/2 in. (23.2 × 36.8 cm)
Sheet: 13 9/16 × 18 1/8 in. (34.4 × 46 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of A. S. Colgate, 1952
Object Number: 52.632.197
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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"The Impending Crisis" – Or Caught in the Act, Louis Maurer American, born Germany, Lithograph — "The Impending Crisis" – Or Caught in the Act
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The Great Exhibition of 1860, Louis Maurer American, born Germany, Lithograph — The Great Exhibition of 1860
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An Heir to the Throne, Or the Next Republican Candidate, Louis Maurer American, born Germany, Lithograph — An Heir to the Throne, Or the Next Republican Candidate
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Letting the Cat Out of the Bag!!, Louis Maurer American, born Germany, Lithograph — Letting the Cat Out of the Bag!!
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"The Irrepressible Conflict," or the Republican Barque in Danger, Louis Maurer American, born Germany, Lithograph — "The Irrepressible Conflict," or the Republican Barque in Danger
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