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Mexican News

1851
Not on view
On a hotel porch, a man reads news of the Mexican-American War to a listeners who react with astonishment, elation, or concern. Seated slightly apart, a pensive Black man rests on the steps, accompanied by a child, as a woman above peers out a window. Based on Woodville's painting "War News from Mexico (1848; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art), this print was created for distribution to members of the American Art-Union. The institution boasted nearly nineteen thousand subscribers at its height in 1849–50. For an annual fee of five dollars, subscribers received a fine, large engraving, and were entered in a lottery that distributed original artworks. The Art-Union aimed to educate the public about contemporary American art and had an impressive distribution network that reached members in every state. They encouraged the creation of a national market for landscapes, genre paintings and small bronze sculptures, but flourished for a limited period. No lottery took place in 1851 and the institution dissolved in 1852–53.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mexican News
  • Engraver: Alfred Jones (American, Liverpool, England 1819–1900 New York)
  • Artist: After Richard Caton Woodville (American, Baltimore, Maryland 1825–1855 London)
  • Publisher: American Art-Union, New York (1838–51)
  • Printer: J. Dalton (American, active 1840–53)
  • Date: 1851
  • Medium: Etching and engraving
  • Dimensions: Image: 20 9/16 × 18 7/16 in. (52.2 × 46.8 cm)
    Sheet: 24 7/16 × 21 1/16 in. (62 × 53.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Harriet McDonald, 1941
  • Object Number: 41.91.241
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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