Group of Vultures, A, Waiting for the Storm to “Blow Over” – Let Us Prey
Nast, Thomas
1871, September 23
Artwork Information
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Title:
Group of Vultures, A, Waiting for the Storm to “Blow Over” – Let Us Prey
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Artist:
Nast, Thomas
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Artist Bio:
American, 1840-1902
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Date:
1871, September 23
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Medium:
Wood engraving
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Dimensions:
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Credit Line:
Wichita Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds donated by the Derby Refining Company, a Unit of Coastal States Gas Corporation
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Object Number:
1978.121.202
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Display:
Not Currently on Display
About the Artwork
Although Thomas Nast is best known today for his Santa Claus drawings, he was in every sense of the word a political satirist during his own lifetime. In the Reconstruction period he executed a long series of drawings exposing the corrupt government of New York dominated by the notorious Tweed ring headed by “Boss” William Marcy Tweed, a State Senator. Indeed, it is that series of drawings indicating the Tweed ring which clearly show the power of political satire in arousing public awareness through the vehicle of the print.
One of the most effective attacks came in the fall of 1871 when, in Harper’s Weekly, this work titled “A Group of Vultures Waiting for the Storm to Blow over – Let Us Prey” appeared. Here the vultures are clearly identifiable and portray the four major members of the Tweed ring with the face of Tweed himself looking directly toward us.