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Bismarck and Liberty

Thomas Nast American, born Germany
ca. 1885
Not on view
America’s most influential nineteenth-century political satirist, Nast was born in Bavaria and arrived in New York at the age of six. His lifelong commitment to the rights of oppressed minorities and to increasing awareness of European politics is demonstrated in this drawing criticizing Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck, whose campaign to unify Germany involved great brutality toward Poles. In 1885 Bismarck initiated a series of deportations that eventually forced tens of thousands of Poles out of Prussian territories. Nast shows Bismarck holding a whip and wearing a canteen labeled ÒBluteÓ (German for ÒbleedÓ). Behind him, two ships flying American flags first accept dispossessed Poles then deposit them at the feet of a welcoming Lady Liberty. Although carefully finished, the drawing does not seem to have been published as a wood engraving.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bismarck and Liberty
  • Artist: Thomas Nast (American (born Germany), Landau 1840–1902 Guayaquil)
  • Date: ca. 1885
  • Medium: Pen and ink
  • Dimensions: sheet: 18 15/16 x 16 in. (48.1 x 40.6 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1939
  • Object Number: 39.45.4
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
"What Are You Laughing At? To the Victor Belong the Spoils" (from "Harper's Weekly," vol. 15, p. 1097), Thomas Nast American, born Germany, Wood engraving
"What Are You Laughing At? To the Victor Belong the Spoils" (from "Harper's Weekly," vol. 15, p. 1097)
After Thomas Nast
Publisher Harper's Weekly
Subject William Magear Tweed
November 25, 1871
Powder Horn, Horn (cow), lead, American
Powder Horn
American
18th century
Scrapbook of Drawings and Prints, Gideon Saint British, Pen and ink, engraving and etching
Scrapbook of Drawings and Prints
Gideon Saint
ca. 1760
A Group of Vultures Waiting for the Storm to "Blow Over"–"Let Us Prey" (from "Harper's Weekly," vol. 15, p. 889), Thomas Nast American, born Germany, Wood engraving
A Group of Vultures Waiting for the Storm to "Blow Over"–"Let Us Prey" (from "Harper's Weekly," vol. 15, p. 889)
After Thomas Nast
Publisher Harper's Weekly
September 23, 1871
Gorget for an Officer of the South Carolina Infantry Regiment, Brass, gold, American
Gorget for an Officer of the South Carolina Infantry Regiment
American
late 18th century

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