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- Thomas Nast was born Sept. 30, 1840 in Landau, Bavaria the son of Thomas and Apellonia Nast. The family immigrated to the United States in 1846, settling in New York City where young Thomas studied art. His artistic skill developed such that in 1855 he was hired as a staff artist for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper and by 1858 he was also working as a freelance artist for Harper’s Weekly and the New York Illustrated News. Nast traveled to Europe in 1860 gaining great renown for his coverage of boxing in England and Garibaldi’s campaigns in Italy. After returning to New York in 1861, Nast married Sarah Edwards. The couple had five children.
Nast joined the staff of Harper’s Weekly in 1862. But rather than drawing battle scenes, Nast proved more adept at showing the experiences of the common soldier and illustrating the political issues of the day. His drawing of Santa Claus in a Union camp wearing stars and stripes was a notable example. During Reconstruction, Nast advocated just treatment for blacks and former slaves and the necessity of Northern intervention to stop white tyranny in the South. His ability to draw poignant caricatures evolved through his work at Harper’s at this time and is evident in some of his cartoons supporting U.S. Grant’s candidacy in 1868 and 1872.
Nast is probably most remembered for his campaign against corruption and abuse of power by the Tweed Ring in New York City led by William Magear Tweed. (Nast’s influence on popular thought can be seen through his identification of Tweed as William Marcy Tweed after U.S. Senator William L. Marcy who, in 1832, said, "They see nothing wrong in the rule that to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy." While this was a clear reference to Tweed’s spoilsmanship, many people still think of Tweed’s middle name as Marcy.) Nast’s use of cartoons brought this situation to the attention of the voters, many of whom could not read, and led to Tweed’s downfall.
With the end of Reconstruction and the Grant presidency, Nast’s influence began to wane. The economic and social issues of the 1870s and 1880s lacked the emotion Nast had so effectively used in previous years. As disputes with management increased Nast left Harper’s Weekly in 1886 and tried to start his own weekly journal. When that effort failed he turned to oil painting.
In 1902, Thomas Nast was appointed to a consulship in Ecuador. Shortly after his arrival he contracted yellow fever, died, and was buried there.
Among Nast’s most memorable contributions to popular culture was the evolution of Santa Claus from the thin, spiritual character of European tales to the rotund image of today. He also was the first to use the donkey and elephant as symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.
Scope and Content
The collection, dating from 1860 to 1902, relates to Thomas Nast’s career as an artist. There are many of Nast’s published works from various magazines as well as a number of original sketches These original sketches cover a wide variety of topics, locations, and prominent people of his time. A small volume, entitled Portraits and Designs, contains images of some of Nast’s oil paintings.
Another major portion of this collection includes letters to and from Nast dated 1860 to 1901. Included in this correspondence are transcriptions of letters from Thomas to Sally from the originals in the possession of the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA. There is also additional correspondence, some with sketches, from Nast’s time in the consular service in Ecuador during 1902.
Other items of interest are a family photo album, photos of Nast, and a volume of autographed letters and newspaper coverage relating to a testimonial given Nast in April 1869. There are also several manuscripts and articles by Nast regarding his trip to Europe, the art of caricature, Boss Tweed, and other topics. A scrapbook of newspaper clippings dated 1904 to 1988, concerning Nast, his career, and his drawings is also found in this collection.
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1840 - 1902 (62 years)