The Darktown Yacht Club--On the Winning Tack: The Cup Secure
Publisher Currier & Ives American
Not on view
The late nineteenth-century Darktown prints by Currier & Ives depict racist stereotypes that are offensive and disturbing. The Metropolitan Museum of Art preserves such works to shed light on their historical context and to enable the study and evaluation of racism.
This print depicts a boating scene with caricatured Black (African American) men. Three smiling sailers and their captain (wearing blue naval uniforms and caps) celebrate their yacht race victory on their sailboat, named "PURE-RAT-TAN." The exuberant captain (center) stands on one leg on the boat's stern, while he kicks his left leg high in the air; in his right hand, he holds the gold trophy, and in his left hand, he holds a banner that reads "DARKTOWN FOR EVER". At left, two sailors --one is perched on the shoulders of the other--climb the mast; the sailor on the bottom holds a telescope in his right hand. At right, a sailor stands at the very end of the boom; his left hand holds onto the sail, as he extends his body over the water and waves. Nearby is a yellow buoy, labeled: N.E.S.W./FIT BOUY." Many sailboats and other boats are in background. The print's title and caption are imprinted in the bottom margin.
Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888), whose successful New York-based lithography firm began in 1835, produced thousands of prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life and its history. People eagerly acquired such lithographs featuring picturesque scenery, rural and city views, ships, railroads, portraits, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments. As the firm expanded, Nathaniel included his younger brother Charles in the business. In 1857, James Merritt Ives (1824–1895), the firm's accountant since 1852 and Charles's brother-in-law, was made a business partner. Subsequently renamed Currier & Ives, the firm continued via their successors until 1907.
