John Bull Makes a Discovery
1862–63
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
Image: 9 13/16 × 12 3/16 in. (25 × 31 cm) Sheet: 13 7/16 × 17 15/16 in. (34.2 × 45.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of A. S. Colgate, 1952
Accession Number
52.632.214
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created during the height of the American Civil War, *John Bull Makes a Discovery* captures the era’s turbulent politics through the lens of popular satire. Currier & Ives, the prolific New York firm renowned for producing affordable lithographs, issued this print between 1862 and 1863, when Britain’s official stance on the conflict and the question of slavery remained a subject of intense public debate. The work’s title references “John Bull,” the traditional personification of Britain, suggesting a commentary on European—particularly British—reactions to the war’s unfolding events. As a lit...