Mose, Lize & Little Mose Going to California
One of America’s first successful caricaturists, Robinson here depicts Mose the Bowery B’hoy, a figure popularized on stage by Frank Changrau. Mose embodies a New York type of working class, single man who lived in lower Manhattan, found employment as a fireman or mechanic, dressed jauntily, enjoyed plays, and often joined a gang. Mose’s bright red shirt, rolled pants, top hat, and tilted cigar made him unmissable and are evident in this print, which is inspired by an 1849 play that sends Mose, his son Little Mose, and his girlfriend, Lize (a New York G’hal), to California during the Gold Rush. Here, they depart from Catherine Market in an open wagon pulled by a jackass.
Artwork Details
- Title: Mose, Lize & Little Mose Going to California
- Artist and publisher: Henry R. Robinson (American, died 1850)
- Subject: Relates to Frank Chanfrau (American, New York 1824–1884 Jersey City, New Jersey)
- Date: ca. 1849
- Medium: Hand-colored lithograph
- Dimensions: sheet: 12 5/8 x 16 11/16 in. (32 x 42.4 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954
- Object Number: 54.90.1360
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Multiple artists/makers
1836
Henry R. Robinson
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Henry R. Robinson
John A. Rolph
1843
Henry R. Robinson
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Henry R. Robinson
James Gulick
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