19th Century Case Studies
from the United States
Content warning: The following images and writing contain and discuss substance use, abuse, abandonment, suicide, self-harm, racism, slavery, forced migration, and narratives of dehumanization.
John Singer Sargent, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
George Catlin: Depicting the Inherent Addiction of the “Noble Savage”
“Shin-gós-se-moon, Big Sail, a Chief”
George Catlin, 1836?, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum,
“Mick-e-no-páh, Chief of a Tribe”
George Catlin, 1838, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. (73.7 x 60.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum,
John Quidor: The Idleness of Rip Van Winkle
Rip Van Winkle at Nicholas Vedder’s Tavern, 1839, Oil on Canvas, 27 x 34, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The Return of Rip Van Winkle, 1849, Oil on canvas, 69.9 × 87.3 cm (39 3/4 x 49 13/16 in.) National Gallery of Art
The Drunkards Progress:
Currier and Ives, 1846, Hand Colored Lithograph, 32.4 x 42 cm, National Library of Congress
The Temperance Lesson:
Edward Edmondson Jr, 1861, The Dayton Museum.
Thomas Nast:
Thomas Nast, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Thomas Nast, 1882, Wood Engraving
Thomas Nast, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Thomas Nast, 1871, Wood Engraving
William Merritt Chase:
William Merritt Chase, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
William Merritt Chase, 1875, Oil on Canvas, 18.5 in x 13 in, Private Collection
“The King’s Jester”
William Merritt Chase, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
William Merritt Chase, 1875, Oil on Canvas, 39 ¾ in x 25 in. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
“Keying Up”
William Merritt Chase, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
William Merritt Chase, 1875, Oil on Wood Panel, unknown dementions, Private Collection
“Jester Resting on a Chair”
John Singer Sargent:
The Indulgent Woman
John Singer Sargent, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
John Singer Sargent, “Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast” 1882-1883, Oil on canvas, 32 x 41 cm (12 5/8 x 16 1/8 in.) Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
John Singer Sargent, “Madam X” 1884, Oil on Canvas, 95.7 in x 56.6 in, Metropolitan Museum of Art