Pictures relating to food and drink often place the fare alluringly front and center, drawing the eyes in an attempt to spur thoughts of pleasurable tastes and smells. But what about pictures that attempt to communicate about the absence or deliberate avoidance of food or drink? How do they get across their message? Pictures about …
Ringing in the New Year with a glass of champagne? Just as many holidays are associated with certain festive foods, New Year’s Eve has long seen many folks around the world enjoying a taste of that fizzy drink. This 1904 photo suggests one way to top off a bottle of bubbly, but I think I’ll …
If every collection in the Prints and Photographs Division is an apple tree, full of tantalizing visual treats, then all of our holdings combined make for a vast orchard, ripe with possibility. My extended food metaphor is no accident, as we are launching a new monthly series here at Picture This entitled Feast Your Eyes. …
As we near Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday on Oct. 27th, we have ongoing cause for celebration. A project to broaden access to images relating to Roosevelt’s life and times is putting new digital images and descriptions online each week. Last year, the project brought us illustrations from Puck magazine, including this visual jab at Roosevelt’s positive …
The summer road trip is a rite of passage for many Americans. And the ultimate road trip is the coast-to-coast journey. Today’s driver has many tools to make the trip easier: GPS systems, road maps, and miles of interstate highway. Between 24 hour gas stations, fast food and cell phones, we are never far from …
The following is a guest post by Helena Zinkham, Chief, Prints & Photographs Division. The renowned editorial cartoon artist Herblock (1909-2001) was a vocal advocate for the environment throughout his long career. The new exhibition “Down to Earth” presents a fascinating look at toxic waste, air pollution, and land conservation by pairing Herblock’s hard hitting …
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that, in addition to marking the 150th anniversary of key developments in the U.S. Civil War, we are now looking back at an even earlier conflict as the War of 1812 bicentennial launches. Two hundred years to the day have passed since the United States declared war on …
In honor of Thanksgiving 2011 we feature a 1904 cover illustration from Puck, the humor and satire magazine, which shows a young woman with a shotgun over her left shoulder carrying a dead turkey. Artist Louis M. Glackens captures the intrepid huntress who appears to look at the viewer out of the corner of her …
I had the good fortune to spend a little time last week in “Timely and Timeless,” an exhibition of comic art in the new Graphic Arts Galleries in the Thomas Jefferson Building. The works on exhibit are drawn from the abundance of cartoons and comics the Prints & Photographs Division has acquired over the last …