"What Are You Laughing At? To the Victor Belong the Spoils" (from "Harper's Weekly," vol. 15, p. 1097)
New York’s famously corrupt politician William M. "Boss" Tweed appears here as a defeated Roman soldier. Nast’s critical satires of Tweed appeared regularly in Harper’s Weekly and helped persuade New York voters to oust the Democrats in November 1871. This ended Tweed’s corrupt leadership of Tammany Hall—a political machine that embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars over three years and bribed critics into silence. Nast compares the defeated Tweed to the Roman consul Caius Marius, exiled in disgrace to the ruined city of Carthage. Wearing a crown of dollar signs, a gouty Tweed leans on an empty treasury box, grips a broken sword, and glares in defiant disbelief.
Artwork Details
- Title: "What Are You Laughing At? To the Victor Belong the Spoils" (from "Harper's Weekly," vol. 15, p. 1097)
- Artist: After Thomas Nast (American (born Germany), Landau 1840–1902 Guayaquil)
- Publisher: Harper's Weekly (American, 1857–1916)
- Subject: William Magear Tweed (American, New York 1823–1878 New York)
- Date: November 25, 1871
- Medium: Wood engraving
- Dimensions: sheet: 15 3/8 x 10 9/16 in. (39 x 26.9 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
- Object Number: 28.111.4(2)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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