The Chicago Platform, What is It, Peace or War
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
sheet: 13 1/4 x 16 in. (33.7 x 40.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Georgiana W. Sargent, in memory of John Osborne Sargent, 1924
Accession Number
24.63.207
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created around 1864 amid the height of the American Civil War *The Chicago Platform, What is, Peace or War* an anonymous lithograph that captures the era's fiery political debates. Produced as a sheet measuring 13¼ x 16 inches, print exemplifies the explosive world of 19th-century satire. Lithography, a revolutionary printing technique invented decades earlier, allowed for affordable mass production of images, making it ideal for disseminating pointed cartoons that poked at politicians and platforms. The title refers to the Democratic Party's "Chicago Platform," adopted at their 1864 national...